Rajon Rondo: Under The Microscope 0

The only weakness in Rondo's game was his hesitation to shoot.
Courtesy of North Station Sports
The NBA has been blessed with some beautiful shot form’s over the years. The Association has also had it’s share of ugly, non traditional shooting forms. Bill Cartwright’s scary, alien-like shot comes to mind, Robert Parish’s high arching “tee it up” type shot, though deadly, will never appear in text book’s either. Joakim Noah’s dis contorted shooting form may only appear in instructional DVD’s displaying what not to do when shooting. Dare I cite Magic Johnson’s shot. Magic’s shot was never very pretty and during his first eight seasons he was unreliable in hitting the perimeter stroke.
I am just citing a few examples of the many unsightly shots over the year’s. None of these players have had their shooting form analyzed as much as we have seen with the Celtics point guard the past three seasons.
In all my year’s of following professional basketball, I have never seen a player’s shot more scrutinized then Rajon Rondo’s. Yesterday we looked at his recent improvements and how this will effect opponent’s preparations when facing the C’s. Today the Globe is featuring another similar story on the subject.
Since taking on the role of floor general for the team with (arguably) the best starting line-up in basketball, Rondo’s shortcomings have always been a topic of scrutiny. His inability to not only hit the open outside shot but also his lack of confidence in attempting them when wide open has been listed as one of the (few) weaknesses the Celtics have. I would often find myself screaming at my plasma, “shoot it,” as Rondo would continually pass up the open shot, often leaving the Celtics with a lower percentage shot and, many times, a turnover. Playing into the hands of their opponents, nothing seemed to remedy this act of repeated half court breakdown caused by Rondo’s refusal to shoot when wide open.











