Author Topic: So without Rondo this means everything prior to this was Sully's fault, right?  (Read 6834 times)

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Offline Eja117

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Where are those people right now to say we are way better without Sully and KO, so we should take pennies on the dollar to get rid of them?
You really think Sullinger and Olynyk make a difference one way or the other? They'd be traded tomorrow and no-one would notice, but the sad reality is that no-one wants broken toys.
One way or the other? I think they could.

Offline SCeltic34

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Rondo had much a much greater burden on his shoulders than Sully or KO did.  He was our All-Star point guard who had finals experience and a championship ring to show for it.  He was supposed to be our leader.  With this comes responsibility for our both our struggles and our success.  Blame naturally is directed towards him, logical or not.

Think of it this way - if this was a Clippers forum, there would be threads about how the Clippers are better off without Blake Griffin.  They've been playing well and beating tough competition without him.  But any knowledgeable NBA fan knows that this just isn't true.

Those who said we were better without Rondo conveniently ignore how horrible we looked against the Knicks in the playoffs (you know, when games actually matter) in Pierce's and KG's final year.  Go ahead and re-watch that series and tell me that we were a better team without Rondo.  That's right, you can't.
« Last Edit: March 04, 2015, 10:56:53 PM by SCeltic34 »

Offline Eddie20

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Those who said we were better without Rondo conveniently ignore how horrible we looked against the Knicks in the playoffs (you know, when games actually matter) in Pierce's and KG's final year.  Go ahead and watch that re-watch that series and tell me that we were a better team without Rondo.  That's right, you can't.

Are you referring to the Rondo pre or post surgery? Because there is a difference.

Offline SCeltic34

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Those who said we were better without Rondo conveniently ignore how horrible we looked against the Knicks in the playoffs (you know, when games actually matter) in Pierce's and KG's final year.  Go ahead and watch that re-watch that series and tell me that we were a better team without Rondo.  That's right, you can't.

Are you referring to the Rondo pre or post surgery? Because there is a difference.

Most of the "we're better without Rondo" chatter came after he went down with his ACL tear and we went on a winning streak of 7 games, I believe.  We followed that winning streak with a losing streak of 5 or 6 games, which people who argued that we were better without Rondo conveniently ignored.

I was mainly addressing this period in time.  We continued to have a disappointing season without him and should have been swept by the Knicks in 4 games if Carmelo drains two free throws (he missed both) towards the end of game 4.

Offline GreenFaith1819

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Eja117 makes a good point, lol ;D

Offline Tr1boy

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no it's still Rondo's fault

Offline Eddie20

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Eja117 makes a good point, lol ;D

Eja was probably waiting to start this thread for some time, but wanted Rondo to string together a few solid games together before doing so. Given the way Rondo's played, I probably would've just made the thread too. Because waiting really isn't going to help the cause.

Offline GreenFaith1819

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no it's still Rondo's fault

No doubt.

I've heard that Rondo is the blame for Global Warming and the dinosaur's extinction, too.

Offline Eddie20

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no it's still Rondo's fault

No doubt.

I've heard that Rondo is the blame for Global Warming and the dinosaur's extinction, too.

On the contrary, I heard that some think he should be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and Humanitarian of the Year for all he's done for humanity. Some have even said he walks on water.

Offline SCeltic34

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Eja117 makes a good point, lol ;D

It's more a mockery of Rondo haters.

Nobody ever expected Sully or KO to guide us to a winning season.  Many people expected Rondo to.

Offline GetLucky

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It's Rondo's fault that we're wearing the "Los Celtics" warmup t-shirts!

« Last Edit: March 04, 2015, 11:31:11 PM by GetLucky »

Offline droopdog7

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What it means is that the guys we're missing are not difference makers.  No sully, not Kelly, not rondo. 

Plain and simple.

Offline BudweiserCeltic

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Remember whenever Rondo would get hurt and then the team would play well people would say it was all because Rondo did everything wrong? Oh there's better ball movement without Rondo. We don't have to worry about free throw shooting without Rondo.  You remember.

Where are those people right now to say we are way better without Sully and KO, so we should take pennies on the dollar to get rid of them? 

The premise falls flat on its face, first because this team was already playing BETTER when Sullinger was still playing.

Then he got injured. And of course, this team is quite different after the trade deadline. So this current team is not the same personnel wise while Sullinger was healthy.

So... there's really nothing to see here.

Offline moiso

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I'm also willing to entertain the notion that Jeff Green was a serious problem. IT rebounds better than him
Well none of Rondo, Green, Sullinger, or KO are high energy players and a couple of them could be just plain lazy at times, so yes, not playing the low energy guys has probably had a positive effect on the team.

Offline LarBrd33

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No, I'm just following the logic.

We're clearly playing better without Sully and KO.
Similar reasons...   

I had to chuckle at anyone who thought adding a bunch of additional mediocre players to a mediocre team would somehow make it competitive.  The NBA is about quality... not quantity.  Most rotations over 9 players struggle.    It was always going to take trades and injuries to define roles.

What we're seeing here is just more defined roles.  Sully/Bass/Oly are basically interchangeable mediocre forwards.   Rondo/Turner/Smart/Bradley/Thornton were more or less interchangable mediocre guards.   Less is more when the parts are even.  Guys can learn each other's tendencies and build chemistry.  At the start of the season we were just throwing out random lineups arbitrarily.  Rivers often had the same issue. Injuries would force us to play less players as a necessity and we'd play better as a result.  In-fact, I think Bass was brought in here to be a 4/5th big man off the bench, but trades and injuries forced him into the starting line-up.   

We improved with Rondo gone, because he was a bad fit for the offense Stevens wanted to run and his absence liberated the team and opened up playing time for guys who could make a similar net impact (in a very different way).   Mild improvement with Sully gone is partially just the new additions and the fact that Sullinger isn't conclusively better than his replacements.  I doubt any of them will be the starting PF for Boston next season.