Do you know the feeling you get when you move to a new town? When you look up and the atmosphere around you is so foreign and exciting, you feel like you can do anything?
Rajon Rondo is experiencing that right about now in Dallas.
Before the point guard was dealt to the Dallas Mavericks, he was just about withering away with the Boston Celtics. He was in a no-win situation and had just about nothing to play for — waiting for either a trade or free agency.
Rondo even went so far as to say his time in Boston depressed him to the point where he didn’t even feel the need to play defense at a high a level as he’s able to. Although he placed some of the blame on a former teammate.
“I haven’t played defense in a couple years. I’ve been able to hide a lot with Avery Bradley on the ball. He’s helped out, the young guy. But [in Dallas] they expect me to play defense and, in the West, if you don’t play defense you’ll get embarrassed every night at the point guard position.”
He kind of hit the nail on the head. Bradley has been one of the NBA’s best defenders since he came into the league in 2010 out of the University of Texas at Austin. Bradley has a career steal percentage of 1.9 (percentage of opponent possessions ending in a steal). That’s including a steal percentage of 3.0 as a rookie in 2010. The 24-year-old Celtic also has a career defensive win share of 5.8 and a 36-minute average of at least one steal in each of his five years in the league.
So, yeah, Rajon, we can see your point. But should we excuse him for that? I know superstars have a tendency to reduce the effort on defense in order to conserve energy, but that doesn’t make it right. True superstars play defense.
Hell, Gary Payton’s career was founded on defense. Michael Jordan has a defensive player of the year award under his belt. LeBron James and Kobe Bryant thrive on weak-side defensive help. Why does Rondo feel the need to lounge?
Sure, Dallas is a different story. Boston was hopeless, and the Mavericks are pushing for a second NBA championship in four years. But again, doesn’t that say something about Rondo as a player? He not only loafed on defense, but he willingly admitted it.
That’s a red flag to me. The Mavericks didn’t give up a whole lot for Rondo, but they’re still going to invest in him for the future. What’s going to happen when Dirk Nowitzki retires? What if Monta Ellis decides to bolt in free agency? If the Mavericks are forced to re-tool in a few years, is Rondo going to turn back into a couch potato on one end of the court?
It’s a bit concerning. Some things don’t need to be said because they stir up bad emotions and thoughts. It’s one thing for the media and fans to speculate or accuse Rondo of not trying on defense. It’s an entirely different when Rondo puts the gun in their hands and closes his eyes.
Even if Rondo becomes an All-NBA defender, there’s still going to be the anticipation for him to quit when times get tough.
