I love Rajon Rondo. I'll say that up front. I love that he's the type of point guard he is. I love the mind-bending assists. I love the pool shark spin on his layups.
But one thing that is becoming really obvious is that loving Rajon Rondo means learning to love the enigma that he is. Because when you talk about the Celtics and boredom, you're chiefly talking about Rajon Rondo.
Rajon is a 25 year old speed demon. He's a guy who can take the ball baseline to baseline, weaving between defenders, in four seconds flat and lay it in. LAY IT IN! He's a Porsche. He's built for speed.
And what does he have running with him? A bunch of Cadillacs. Sweet rides, no doubt. But they're cars your uncle drives. They're in the middle lane of the highway… cruising at 65.
Ever drive a sports car at 65? Ever feel all that horse power just waiting beneath your feet… begging you to punch it, drop it into 5th, and fly? Ever sit there in one of those things surrounded by old-man Caddys just looking for an opening so you can gun it and leave those guys in the dust?
It's not fun. And it can't be fun for Rondo. The thing is, those old guys are the key to the team winning. They're the reason the team is not good, but great (when they want to be). So you've got to keep them happy. Rajon Rondo, the slickest distributor in the league, is forced to flip the ball to Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett. Because when he doesn't, he gets an ear full. Ray will come up to him. Paul will come up to him. KG will come up to him.
"Hey… they're switching… find me cuz I can take my guy"
"Hey… this guys is going under picks… find me cuz I can take the shot"
"Hey… this guy is fronting me… find me over the top"
To you and me… this is what Rondo is supposed to do. He's the point guard feeding three Hall of Famers. And when the whole thing is flowing and everyone is doing what they're supposed to do, it works. But you can't tell me Rondo doesn't want to just fly and carve up the D and flip his little funky layup and wild passes to other thoroughbreds who are filling the lanes left by his wake.
You could see it in his play last night. You could see Rondo making simple passes fancy. You could see Rondo just laying back, waiting for someone to move somewhere so he could thread a needle and make a spectacular play.
If anyone is going to be bored, its Rajon. If anyone is getting sick of doing what he's doing, it's the kid out there milling about with all the old guys. When Paul Pierce is yelling at Rondo on the court to do things, its obvious which one of these guys is getting a little sick of the grind.
Yes, he's a bit banged up too. But you can see him turn it on and off. You can see Rondo be an attacker when he WANTS to be an attacker. But he'll do it when he wants to. And don't tell him any differently.
Rajon is the 200 IQ kid that fails classes in high school. Disinterested even though he could ace everything with some effort and really be innovative if he's motivated. It's why he gambles on D rather than stay in front of his man. Its why he passes up layups instead of taking easy points.
He'll get the job done. He'll make our jaws drop. But he'll do it on his own terms.
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