next »

[Moranis]

Rondo's style of play has been predicated on athleticism and speed.  A player is never the same after a major injury, so the question becomes, just what type of player will Rondo be when he comes back?  If he drops only a smidge in athleticism, speed, etc., he will probably go back to being what he was, but what if he loses more than a smidge?  Can he adapt his game to play slower?  Will he still have that same level of "value" (a 1/2 type player) or will he fall down a rung or more in "value"?

I have a real concern that the Rondo that comes back is nothing like the Rondo that was lost (not right when he comes back but after he has been back awhile), and I am just not sure he will be able to change his style of play to fit his lesser physical skills (though maybe that will force him to actually learn how to shoot more effectively and efficiently).

Thoughts?

[CelticsFan9]

Rondo NEEDS to develop good and consistent range on his shot.  I cannot stress this enough.  It's unlikely that he has the athleticism he had, so its important that he can effect the game in other ways.

Rondo is most likely going to be a very different player than he was.

[nickagneta]

Rondo's style of play has been predicated on athleticism and speed.  A player is never the same after a major injury, so the question becomes, just what type of player will Rondo be when he comes back?  If he drops only a smidge in athleticism, speed, etc., he will probably go back to being what he was, but what if he loses more than a smidge?  Can he adapt his game to play slower?  Will he still have that same level of "value" (a 1/2 type player) or will he fall down a rung or more in "value"?

I have a real concern that the Rondo that comes back is nothing like the Rondo that was lost (not right when he comes back but after he has been back awhile), and I am just not sure he will be able to change his style of play to fit his lesser physical skills (though maybe that will force him to actually learn how to shoot more effectively and efficiently).

Thoughts?

At Rondo's age, with modern medical and surgical advances, given he only tore one knee ligament, I say Rondo will return to being Rondo by Christmas.

Rondo isn't a 34 year old KG. He isn't a 35 year old Baron Davis. He's 26.

Look what Adrian Peterson did in the NFL. Rondo is already been in touch with AP to discuss his surgery and rehab.

Shumpert has come back and looked every bit the player he once did.

[PhoSita]

Well, I think with improved medicine treating knee injuries in recent years, it's not as career altering as it once was.  But it can definitely significantly change the way a guy plays.  Just look at Chris Paul.

The trouble with Rondo is that his game is so unique it's tough to come up with a comparison.  With many players you can point to somebody else who played in a similar way and had a similar body and see how they came back from a knee injury. 


Also, I'd be MUCH more worried about somebody like Derrick Rose, who truly relied on being absolutely explosive and having a great first step.  He's going to have to adjust his game significantly after blowing his knee out the way he did.

[Roy H.]

This is the question. 

Rondo without his speed / quickness is a pretty limited player.  He'd be a great passer, but he'd lose some of his defensive ability and his ability to get to the hoop.

A guy who is a great passer but who is only effective shooting open mid-range jumpers probably isn't an elite player.

I'm still optimistic, though, that this is a "minor" ACL injury, and he'll be good to go next year.

[RJ87]

I think it's far too soon to gauge what Rondo may look like post surgery.  Sometimes,  guys can come back and be at or close to their prior level (Amare Stoudamire only recently started to significantly decline, but he was still pretty impressive after his microfracture surgeries. And of course,  Adrian Peterson can back from a completely blown out knee). There's still a ton we don't know about Rondo's injury (complete ACL tear versus partial tear), but I'm taking a strong wait-and-see approach.

[Celtics18]

I'm remaining optimistic, but the truth is I have no idea how this will affect the rest of his career. 

[manl_lui]

actually I have almost the same question...

Rondo could walk fine, does that mean he has a light ACL tear? I do not know anything about ACL tears so excuse my ignorance...

cuz I heard you can never be 100% again after an ACL tear, but in Rondo's case, can he?

[kozlodoev]

actually I have almost the same question...

Rondo could walk fine, does that mean he has a light ACL tear? I do not know anything about ACL tears so excuse my ignorance...

cuz I heard you can never be 100% again after an ACL tear, but in Rondo's case, can he?

ACL injuries don't render you unable to walk. Remember that Leon Powe played several minutes with a torn ACL. Logan Mankins played the entire 2011 season on a torn ACL.

I've got no idea where you've heard that "you can never be 100% again after an ACL tear". Quite evidently, it isn't true.

[Fafnir]

actually I have almost the same question...

Rondo could walk fine, does that mean he has a light ACL tear? I do not know anything about ACL tears so excuse my ignorance...

cuz I heard you can never be 100% again after an ACL tear, but in Rondo's case, can he?

He didn't tear up the rest of his knee is my guess.

Most of the time when you see someone go down dramatically and have an ACL injury there is additional damage. Other ligaments, cartilage, the other soft tissue, etc...

ACL is just so structurally key that we tend to refer to all such injuries no matter what else as an ACL tear.

Now Rondo could very well have other damage to his knee, we certainly don't know. But given how he played on it and didn't feel it catastrophically I'd guess the other damage is minor.

[4THQTR]

We won't know until we see it...

ACL tears can have lasting effects, but full recoveries aren't a rarity either.



BTW: I have two friends that walked on torn ACLs for about a week or two before getting an MRI... It really depends on what else is damaged in the knee. The reason why it is unusual to be able to walk with a torn ACL is mainly that most ACL tears come along with severe damage to the rest of the knee as well.

[slamtheking]

on the plus side, he's improved his shot this year.  hoping that continues when he returns.  If the team continues to advance the ball via passing rather than running it the court via dribble, this injury may not impact the team that badly.  as for his halfcourt game, he can still pass as well as anyone in the game.  he's a smart player and driven to excel so I think he'll do well after surgery regardless of his physical state of being.

[Donoghus]

Watching how Rose plays when he comes back in a few weeks might indicate what we may come to expect when Rondo comes back.

Obviously, different basketball playes but both play games predicated on speed & lateral cuts.

And I'm pretty sure that Rondo's injury wasn't as severe from my understanding.

[SHAQATTACK]

He will need to work on his shot and other aspects that can help his team.

CP3 is clearly as goods, he just improved in many other ways.

Rose, will be interesting ,as he had about as bad knee blowout as you can have......it was horrible looking and they carried him off .    Note sure he will be e highflying acrobatic player he once was , it may take a long time to regain his confidence in that knee .