Rajon Rondo Is Not Paul Pierce – Now Get Over It

Celtics Nation: shut yer yaps.

Not all of you, of course – just the loudest and most ignorant of you.

Eight games into a season that no one expected to be anything than a rebuilding year for the Boston Celtics, Rajon Rondo finds himself catching a bit of heat following last night’s disappointing 122-121 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The criticism centers around Rondo’s inability to get off, much less hit, a shot in the closing seconds of a game in which the Celtics blew a 19 point lead.  The criticism is partially justifiable – in the same way that 1% of a dollar is partially money in your pocket.  There is never a good reason why a player should be unable to get off a shot when you have eight seconds to work with, no doubt.

The problem is, and here’s the reason why this criticism is almost entirely unwarranted, Rajon Rondo should not be the one taking shots in the closing minutes of a close game.

Ever since the Celtics traded Paul Pierce to the Brooklyn Nets, officially signalling the beginning of the rebuilding phase in which the team still finds itself, there has not been a closer on the parquet of TD Garden.  Well, not one wearing green and white, that is.  You and I can argue about whether the Boston Celtics need someone like The Truth, a player who you give the ball to 99% of the time when the game is on the line, or whether the team should feed the player who has it going on any given night.

That’s a discussion for another day, although I’ll go on the record of saying the team needs a player who can be The Man night in and night out.

What isn’t up for discussion, though, is that Rajon Rondo is NOT that kind of “The Man.”  He wasn’t drafted because of his ability to nail game-winning shots.  Nothing in his professional career would convince anyone that he will EVER be the player sticking daggers in the hears of the opposition in the closing seconds of close games.

Yet here we are, reading drivel like this:

Seriously -did I just read that?  Rondo is not the future because he can’t take the shot?

I don’t even know where to begin.  Maybe I should begin with the fact that Rondo currently leads the NBA at 12.0 assists per game.  Many nights, he’s the reason this Celtics team is even within striking distance in the fourth quarter.  The Celtics have the second-most prolific offense in the league right now – but I’m sure they would still have that without Rondo on the floor, right?

Maybe I should also point out the fact that Rondo is averaging 8.1 rebounds per game this season, which means that on any given night, Rondo is personally responsible for about 20% of the Celtics’ total rebounds.   Is that kind of important?  I cannot tell – I don’t get paid to do this professionally.

And Rondo is only averaging two steals per game, so I bet that won’t be missed once he leaves town.

Wait – did I just type, “once he leaves town?”  Yes – yes I did.  Because criticizing Rondo for not being something he never has been is the absolute best way to convince him that the water is fine somewhere else.

It’s pretty obvious that Rajon Rondo is not going to assume the role of Paul Pierce on this Celtics team, uh, ever – and that’s okay.  That doesn’t mean he isn’t the future of the Celtics, though.  The fact that I have to type this actually saddens me.  Rondo is the sort of pass-first point guard who would make life easier for a cold-blooded assassin such as Paul Pierce – wait: he already proved that.

So why are we on his ass, again?