Rondo has done it his own way but has taken time to listen and take direction from at critical junctures, while struggling to gain the ultimate respect of the elders on the team.  You know he keeps working his game like the consummate pros he plays with.  He immediately was taken under Ray Allen’s wing when Ray joined after Rondo’s rookie year, and they worked on the preparation and good habits leading to consistency.

The Big Three all take improving their games seriously during he off-season, and Rondo took on what has been arguably his most significant weakness – shooting.  At the end of Septmeber, it was reported via CSN’s Tim Welsh (courtesy of Celtics Blog/RealGM) that Rondo worked on his shooting form “all summer long” in Florida with Tim Welsh, and that he’s improved from being a poor to an average shooter.  Well let’s analyze that.

RONDO’S SHOOTING

Rondo’s jump shot has been bad.  Last year during the playoffs he was only 33% for his jump shots (see NBA Hotspots), this is when he admittedly was the best point guard in the playoffs with essentially a triple-double average at 16.9, 9.7 and 9.8 for points, rebounds and assists (inflated by 7 OTs – but who’s counting).  Fortunately, as a if he were a big man, he takes most of his shots close-in, where he made 50%, which raised his overall field goal percentage to 41%.

During the 2008-09 regular season, Rondo was not counted on to score, shot less and his overall shooting percentage was 50.5% while he only was counted on for 9.7 points per game via field goals.

Through 6 games this year, Rondo is shooting 56.5% while scoring 8.7 points per game via field goals.  But don’t get too excited.  To repeat history, Rondo’s jump shots were only 0 for 9 in the Minnesota game on Tuesday, where his poor shooting was veiled by Rondo being the Celtics scoring leader due to all the good looks he had from inside.

So do we see improvement despite the Minnie goose egg?  Well yes . . . if you remove the Minnesota game, Rondo’s has shot 50% in the 1^st 5 games for his jumpers, and that’s what we like to see in our point guard.

RONDO’S ASSISTS

You know that Rondo is piling up the assists this year – 2^nd per game behind Steve Nash at 9.7 assists/game.  What is interesting is his Assist% number which is the percentage of assists he has on the team when he’s on the floor (see basketball-reference.com).  You’ve always heard that the Celtics don’t really need a point guard with such good passers at their position like the Big Three.  Rondo just needed to push the ball and play that defense which is his hallmark.

Well this year the Celtics are really deferring to Rondo and his judgment as the floor general.  His Assist% is 46%, and that is huge increase over his career best of 40% last year.  So not only has Rondo improved his shooting, he’s really established himself as a true point guard for the Celtics.  For reference, the top point guards last year, Chris Paul and Deron Williams, had Assist% of 54% and 47%, respectively.  “Rondo as a top 3 point guard anyone?”

In closing, “Does Chris Paul know who he’s talking to?”