Before commenting, I ask you to watch this great video Zach Lowe put together:
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=12049965Realize that Dallas has the best offense in the league. They put up a league leading 110 points per night on a league leading 48% shooting.
Question: How does Rondo impact this?
Rondo is an ball-dominating guard who is effectively a liability when the ball isn't in his hands. Yes, Rondo is a lethal creator when he's controlling the rock... which is why Boston had built a system around him. Stick bigs around Rondo who can hit mid range shots. Surround him with great shooters... dude will get his assists. But try to run the ball through anyone else on the court and that player is basically going 4 on 5 since Rondo is such a non-threat offensively.
We've been watching the Celtics closely for years. You might remember a couple years ago that when Rondo went down with an injury, the team was below .500. Rondo had been off to arguably his best statistical season. He had an epic assist streak at one point. Rondo goes down... suddenly the offense completely transforms. Suddenly, the team is sharing the ball, the spacing improves, Pierce steps up... we rally and make the playoffs. Last season, the team was better with Jordan Crawford running point than Rajon Rondo. I'm not being cheeky. It's true. We were 13-26 with Crawford... 6-24 with Rondo. Simply replacing Rondo with a mildly competent shooter seemed to help the team. Rondo controls the ball out of necessity... without it, he's N/A.
Now ask yourself, what kind of impact do you actually think Rondo will make on a Mavs offense that is the epitome of ball-movement and open shooting? How does Monta Ellis' (another ball-dominant player) role change now that Rondo is out there and presumably needs the ball to be relevant? Make some predictions... I'm extremely curious. We're about to find out once and for all what kind of impact Rondo actually makes on a team's offense.