 Game Time: Bulls 121, Celtics 118 (2OT)One of the joys of playoff basketball is observing just how much the gestalt can change from game to game. Teams on opposite ends of blowouts can even switch places. Great players can have unexpected bad games and vice versa.
Monday's games- Hawks 81, Heat 71 (Tied 2-2)
- Nuggets 121, Hornets 63 (Nuggets 3-1)
- Lakers 107, Jazz 96 (Lakers win 4-1)
Sunday's games- Bulls 121, Celtics 118 (2OT) (Tied 2-2)
- Cavaliers 99, Pistons 78 (Cavs win 4-0)
- Magic 84, 76ers 81 (Tied 2-2)
- Rockets 89, Blazers 88 (Rockets 3-1)
FOXSports.com analysis- Playoff results, schedule
- 2009 NBA Playoff Central
- Behrendt: Odom key to Lakers' win
- Rosenberg: Billups over AI for Hall
- Rosen: Rondo not quite elite PG
- Rosen: Jazz good; Lakers great
- Hench: 5 stars for future Finals
Video- Monday's playoff highlights
PhotosAdequately defending high screens is still another problem for Rondo (and for just about everybody else). Early in the game he went under screen-and-rolls set for Rose — a good idea since the rook's range is limited. But as the game progressed, Rondo either submitted to be nailed on screens or overplayed the screens. Both of these maneuvers were probably within the purview of Boston's game plan — yet neither of them worked because of disadvantageous switches that resulted, or because Rose simply ignored the proffered screen to reverse direction and drive hoopward. Of course, Rondo was beaten off the dribble on several occasions by Rose and Ben Gordon, but there's no shame or shortcoming in this. Nor could Rondo be faulted when Rose trumped his aggressive deny-defense by cutting backdoor and winding up with a layup. What was nothing short of foolish was an unnecessary breakaway foul that Rondo committed on John Salmons. Instead of either letting Salmons score the deuce or forcefully grabbing him so that he couldn't get the shot off, Rondo's love tap was the worst possible outcome. And how important was the extra point that the penalty gave Salmons' score from the stripe? For the game, Rondo's 25 points was nearly equaled by the 23 he yielded in man-to-man confrontations — 15 by Rose, five by Hinrich, two by Ben Gordon and that costly bonus point to Salmons. By the end of the game, Rondo made several other blunders. The missed jumper in lieu of a drive. An easy layup flubbed. And allowing a careless dribble to bounce off his foot even as he was intent on running downcourt (somehow the turnover was given to the passer). To sum up both Rondo's performance against the Bulls as well as his overall game: His jumper is improving, but he's still strictly a rhythm set shooter. Not unlike the young Tony Parker. And despite the streaky nature of his makes, Rondo remains the worst jump shooter of his presumed peers. His decision-making with the ball is better than Parker and Williams and rivals CP3. He can finish in a crowd better than Williams and Paul and almost as good as Parker. He's as quick north-to-south as Parker, but his left hand isn't as well developed. Paul is quicker east-to-west than either RR or TP, while DW is by far the strongest of this quartet. Rondo tops the list in length, rebounding and quickness off the floorboards. None of these guys is a stopper on defense, with Parker and Williams bringing up the rear. Like Paul, Rondo is a gambler, but CP3's lower center of gravity makes his gambles more productive. Rondo leads the pack in poaching passing lanes.But here's the crucial difference: If Parker, Williams and Paul (not necessarily in that order) are currently a half-step ahead of Rondo, each of these three are as good as they'll ever be. On the other hand, Rondo is still in the middle of his learning curve. In three years, Rajon Rondo will be the standard of excellence for NBA point guards. That is, if Derrick Rose doesn't get there first.
Author: Fox Sports
Author's Website: http://www.foxsports.com
Added: April 27, 2009
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