It’s easy to turn Rajon Rondo‘s game into a senior year thesis. He “contains multitudes,” but at only 6-1, 170, he’s not “large,” though his game does contain “contradictions.” Walt Whitman parallels aside, two plays in last night’s 94-88 Celtics loss to the Blazers show why we feel “so proud to get” near “the meaning of” Rondo.
First, there’s his pet play when driving the lane, which he pulled off towards the end of the first quarter. He cups the rock in his massive hand and fakes a behind-the-back pass. Others have done something similar, but only Rondo can perform the feat with such ease and speed, freezing defenders even while he’s bursting by in a blur of green motion.
Remember, Rondo is full of contradictions. He’s the anti-AAU score-first mentality that currently dominates the NBA landscape — particularly among the youngsters. His ability to score once he gets in the lane earlier in the game is the reason many of the Blazers hedge into the lane after Brandon Bass frees him with a screen well above the three-point arc mid-way through the third quarter:
LaMarcus Aldridge is on an island waiting flat-footed in Terry Stott‘s risk-averse defensive scheme, and Nicolas Batum is ball-watching Rondo — we would too — forgetting about Jeff Green in the corner. Normally, Green might hang back and knock down that short corner three, but he see’s Batum with one foot in the lane and he scoots baseline for the easy jam.
‘Tis Rajon Rondo
He still contains multitudes.
It’s why we love him.
What do you think?
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