Lakers came out in the 2nd half with GREAT defense, just like I asked! I was impressed. LBJ is the REAL MVP!
Lakers break out the great “D!”
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September 9, 2020 4 Comments
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I came on here to create a post before the 2nd round started, unfortunately I couldn’t figure it out so I just abandoned it. After last nights game I came to the site to try again to no avail. So I decided to comment on DJ’s post about the Laker’s Great D!
The great Defense is a product of what I was going to post about. The product is Rondo and the effect he has on his team beyond the analytics. I apologize if I’m just repeating what has been said in here, but I’m going to assume it hasn’t based on the Rondo haters and Caruso lovers.
First I’ll quote the text conversation I had with my brother after we closed out the 1st round. “I hate this team, I’ve watched almost every minute of every playoff game and almost every team has role players and a future with them that I’m envious of. Green’s playoff magic has finally ran out, he’s the most overpaid on the team. KCP and Caruso can’t hit open shots ever and their defense isn’t as impressive as some think. Kuzma is what he is and that’s a guy that should only get 15 minutes a night and that’s because of his defense. McGee is antiquated, Howard makes at least 3 dumb mistakes and 3 dumb fouls every game. Beyond those guys it’s a joke of a squad.”
I continued the conversation saying that the only thing that gives me hope is that LeBron has taken horrible team after horrible team to the finals. I was hoping him and AD would give me more as well, they both kill me how un-aggressive they are going to the basket settling for outside shots. We don’t have a 3rd star, we don’t even have a 3rd scorer.
“The only way we are going to beat the Clippers if we get Playoff Rondo”
Fast forward to today; I’m not only going to tell you why that was our only hope, I’m going to say I’ve been right all season when others were obsessed putting a fork in him because of their silly perspective using analytics. Rondo gives this team so much more that stats, +/- even in a loss.
KCP, Green, and Caruso give us absolutley nothing on the offensive of end. They may be better defenders than Rondo but they are not better for the team defensively. What Rondo does on the defensive end is he free’s up energy for everyone else because of the way he runs the offense. The win last night is a perfect example as LeBron is playing with vigor on both ends because of Rondo setting him and the offense up to be more efficient.
On the offensive end LeBron only makes his teammates better because so much attention is on him and he’s a brilliant passer. Rondo litterally makes them better by putting them in the correct position with the best pass to increase the probabilities. Instead of waiting around revolving around LeBron, Kuzma and the others are moving and cutting because they are playing off a creator. Rondo gives them confidence, he gives AD the confidense to post up or roll hard for the alley oop. Most importantly he allows LeBron to dive to the basket, post up, and be aggressive focused on scoring rather than being a “playmaker” that drives without a singular purpose.
Anyways, I think I can go on and on but have work to do and would like to continue the discussion based on some responses.
Sean, I just emailed you about writing articles for the site. Please check your email. Thanks.
While I have been pretty down on Danny, KCP, and at times even Caruso, I think we can still win a championship. I also have been impressed with Kuzma’s defense. I think Green is gone in a trade next season and maybe KCP. Caruso is not a starter but his defense is very solid.
A big part of the problem in my mind is Frank Vogel and his reluctance to go small. See my latest article to see what I mean by that. 4-out and AD in the post is not going small in my book. It’s playing big with smaller players. What we did last night, especially in the second half, is the blueprint to beating the Clippers and winning the championship. Copy the Rockets style of play. LeBron and AD are better rim protection do than anything McGee or Howard brings. Give me a healthy Boogie next season.
Just got your email. Talk to you from Mars tomorrow.
Just replied thanks. How bout Rondo!!! 🙂
@NBA4ever. Good to have you in. I sincerely hope all is well with you.
I can’t agree more with your comments. They basically echoed the same sentiments I had all season long about Rondo. I even posted a similar comment on a post just a few days ago.
There are so many folks out there sounding off on Rondo spewing all kinds of hate and negative vibes about his contributions to the team while being blatant and adamant in their analytics. It makes you wonder how shallow their thinking can go.
What Rondo has been able to do in these playoffs has been nothing short of my expectations. He’s doing every little thing defensively while also controlling the tempo of the game against a speedy, small ball Rockets team. Often times people don’t realize how important it is to slow down a game to your own pace. And that’s exactly what Rondo is doing. That has allowed LeBron to mercilessly be in the attack mode while freeing him from too many ball handling duties which tend to wear him out.
Rondo has been a revelation in these playoffs. His contributions have been enormous and those with discernment can see right through them.
Thanks for bringing this up.