We also played well with Pierce on the bench tonight, does that mean we are a better team without him? Obviously not.
Rondo hasn't played up to his usual standards as of late, but I think we should keep in mind that he is coming off a recent hip injury.
Overall, Rondo's been having one of his best seasons in the league. He's averaging 13.2 points (.5 points less than his career high), 11.3 assists (.4 less than career high), 5.2 rebounds (career high), 64.7 FT% (career high), .514 eFG% (ties 2nd best career high). He's shooting 51% from 16-23FT (would be career high, easily), 44% from 3-9FT (a drastic +20% improvement from his last two seasons), 63.2% at rim (2nd best in career). Even without looking at the stats it's clear that Rondo's shooting has improved this year.
And at his best (which is usually in the playoffs) he takes this team to another level. Of course KG and Bradley's impact on the defensive end is important too, but when Rondo is "on" he has the potential to effect every aspect of the game; scoring, rebounding, defense, play-making, ect. I think the problem is some expect that out of him every night, when that's just not going to happen. He is what he is at this point...he's prone to defensive lapses and lack of effort in some games, but overall he's pretty consistent in his play.
So one bad stretch does not = were better off without him.