next »

[ianboyextreme]

The reason we are losing these close games is because Rondo siezes up his offense at the end of games.

In the Knicks game, he was a closer, we just came up short. Tonight, he was passive again at the end of the game. He has it in him and has shown it in the playoffs and some regular season games but he has to be the guy to shut the door with his scoring at the end of games. If he misses shots, he misses them, but you miss every one you dont take and sometimes, they go in.

[PhoSita]

I just don't think he's that kind of player.

KG isn't, either.

Some guys just don't want to be "the guy."

That is definitely one aspect of losing Ray that has hurt this team a lot.  Other than Pierce, Ray was the guy on the team who really wanted the ball at the end of the game. 

Terry lives for those moments, too -- or he has, in the past -- but he's been awful this season.

[TAllen]

Rondo doesn't have the offensive ability to be a closer.  He is a point guard that can't shoot contested jumpers which is what you get in end of game situations.  And he is a liability when it comes to shooting fts.

[scaryjerry]

yup...without Ray and over relying on pierce in these situations has exposed us...rondo is being coached to give it to pierce people and he's willing to do it when he should and has to develop being a closer.. when this was suppose to be"rondos team" I find it asinine he's reduced to giving it to pierce for an iso

[BenHenry]

Rondo doesn't have the offensive ability to be a closer.  He is a point guard that can't shoot contested jumpers which is what you get in end of game situations.  And he is a liability when it comes to shooting fts.

Exactly, he's been like a career 1 for 33 while taking game winning shots. I remember him taking final shots dozens of time and not once have i seen him made any. If there's a stat for it im sure he has the worst game winning shot percentage in all of league history with a minimum of 30 shots taken. It's literally that bad.

[Roy H.]

yup...without Ray and over relying on pierce in these situations has exposed us...rondo is being coached to give it to pierce people and he's willing to do it when he should and has to develop being a closer.. when this was suppose to be"rondos team" I find it asinine he's reduced to giving it to pierce for an iso

Do you think Rondo can be that consistent offensive scorer down the stretch?

I'm not sure he has the mentality to do it.

[scaryjerry]

Rondo doesn't have the offensive ability to be a closer.  He is a point guard that can't shoot contested jumpers which is what you get in end of game situations.  And he is a liability when it comes to shooting fts.

says the Tony Allen fan.

not buying this...he needs to be coached over those humps and have the opportunity not just told to give it to pierce...

[scaryjerry]

yup...without Ray and over relying on pierce in these situations has exposed us...rondo is being coached to give it to pierce people and he's willing to do it when he should and has to develop being a closer.. when this was suppose to be"rondos team" I find it asinine he's reduced to giving it to pierce for an iso

Do you think Rondo can be that consistent offensive scorer down the stretch?

I'm not sure he has the mentality to do it.

well it seems that way but he's also listening to coaching and instead of growing into it and becoming comfortable in those spots to make a play they're still playing and coaching around it...kind of silly whether he fails or succeeds he needs the opportunities to ever even potentially be that guy

LeBron has problems with this still but has shown you can grow into it

[KGs Knee]

Eh, maybe.

Rondo doesn't have the greatest jumpshot when guarded, and on top of that, doesn't seem to have a cross-over dribble move.  He gets to the basket for layps with pure quickness and slight of hand.  Much more difficult to do when the entire defense is focused on just you.

Maybe if he hits a few, and gains confidence, he could become that guy.  As much as I love Rondo, I just don't really see it.

The C's would be much better off scraping the whole iso clearout play at the end of games and just running regular plays.

[scaryjerry]

he needs to be more of the closer and making plays for someone not named pierce off the dribble and he needs to prove he can hit clutch fts..I'm not asking for rondo isolation and fade aways at the buzzer...but even that would be better then a pierce iso at this point

[Lightskinsmurf]

I have seen rondo countless times take over a game but once it comes to the last play or two instead of finishing the job he gives the ball to pierce and of course pierce misses.

[LB3533]

Didn't Rondo try to do something down the stretch and committed an up and down traveling violation?

[Lightskinsmurf]

I remember two times in particular rondo attempted the last shot but i think he tripped both times. Rondo closing can't possibly be any worse than pierce doing it.

[2short]

rondo needs to AVERAGE a triple double, play great defense and become the closer the way the team is playing lately

[kgainez]

OR

Rondo can be aggressive in quarters 1-3, pass to other people not named Pierce, take the wide open layups, and THEN we won't need a closer cuz we will win by double digits every...single...time