Slowing down super-speedy Rondo easier said then done
For all the talk about Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and replacements for the injured Kevin Garnett, the star of the first round for the Boston Celtics has been point guard Rajon Rondo by a wide margin.
In the first three games against the Bulls, Rondo is averaging nearly a triple-double with 22.7 points, 10.7 rebounds and 9.7 assists.
He's also shooting an even 50 percent from the field and knocking down outside jumpers consistently. That's quite a step forward for a player whose reputation coming out of Kentucky was a Bluegrass bricklayer.
During two games against Florida during the 2005-06 season, Rondo's last at Kentucky, Bulls center Joakim Noah actually outscored the future Celtics point guard 41-26 in a pair of Gators victories. On Saturday at the Berto Center, Noah laughed at the memory.
"I remember in college we used to beg him to shoot," he said. "We used to switch the pick-and-roll and it didn't matter who was guarding Rondo - we'd just back up and force him to shoot.
"He's really playing his heart out. We've just got to find a way to slow him down and I think we'll be ready (for Game 4)."
Rondo lasted until the 21st pick of the 2006 draft. One staff member suggested the Bulls would have taken him had they not been able to trade up to get Thabo Sefolosha.
One reason Rondo didn't go high in the draft was his reputation as a poor shooter in college - his 3-point percentage during that sophomore season was .273. But he was also known as a freak-of-nature athlete with great speed, ridiculously long arms and giant hands that resemble oven mitts.
As a college freshman, Rondo set the Kentucky single-season record for steals. Recently, the 23-year-old Louisville native became the first NBA player to become a paid sponsor for the Red Bull energy drink. Rondo's game is certainly about energy.
"I can tell you unequivocally that I don't think I've ever coached a better athlete or a more talented basketball player in my entire life," former Kentucky coach Tubby Smith once said of Rondo.
Trying to slow down Rondo isn't as simple as hiking up the socks and getting in his grill defensively. Rondo scored many of his 20 points in Game 3 on the fast break after long rebounds or steals, when it's difficult to slow him down.
In the half-court, the Celtics like to utilize the nearly 600 combined pounds of Glen Davis and Kendrick Perkins to help Rondo get open. When one of those widebodies sets a screen, Bulls rookie Derrick Rose risks giving Rondo an open path to the basket if he tries to squeeze through. But if Rose takes the long journey around the circumference of Davis or Perkins, Rondo has plenty of time to line up a jump shot, and he's been knocking it down for most of the series.
He's even drained a couple of 3-pointers, something he did just 15 times in 80 games during the regular season. Asked to list his defensive goals for Rondo in Game 4, Rose stayed away from specifics.
"Try to make it tough for him and play help-side defense when he doesn't have the ball," Rose said. "Just force him into bad shots. Play a little more tough defense on him."
If only it were that simple.