Rondo: To Keep Or Not To Keep?

 Rondo has that look again, but what's it mean?

In a sport like basketball, it's rare to find a superstar who doesn't talk much, but that's what Celtics point guard (PG) Rajon Rondo does.  He doesn't talk much to people and the media; he lets his play do the talking, which I commend him for because his play speaks for a lot.  This season, Rondo's stat line was

• 13.7 points per game (tied for career high)
• 11.1 assists per game (leads NBA)
• 5.6 rebounds per game (career high)
• 48% field goal percentage (4th among guards)
• 64.5% free throw percentage (career high)

As you can see from his stat line, Rondo was having a career year by many people's standards, even having some people call him the best PG in the league.  I don't know if I can agree with that statement, but there's no doubt in my mind that Rondo is a top 15 player and a top 5 point guard.  That brings me to last week though.  Last week, the Celtics played the Miami Heat and it was discovered that he had a tore Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) from the previous game against the Atlanta Hawks.  The Celtics won, but their star PG was lost for the season.  Since ACL's are tricky injuries, people in Boston have surprisingly said to trade Rondo, or that the Celtics are better without him, but I think that's a bunch of BS.

Now, I'm not the biggest fan/defender of Rondo in the world.  His attitude annoys me, as does his lackadaisical effort whenever he plays against certain teams, but he is a dynamic and great player.  You can tell from how hard he plays when he puts in max effort and by his stat line.  I know for Rondo the stats are iffy since he does seem to play for stats sometimes, but that shows he cares about winning.  What I don't like about Rondo though is that ego of his.  Him thinking that just because he has a ring, he is better than Chris Paul or Derrick Rose when it just doesn't work that way.  Sure, Rondo may have better stats or more triple doubles, but he can't score consistently like Derrick Rose, run a team like Chris Paul, and most importantly of all, can't get wins like them.  You can disagree with me if you want, but ask anybody who they'd rather have and they'll mention tons of PG's like CP3, D-Rose, Russell Westbrook, etc.

The Celtics recent four game winning streak would suggest to you that the Celtics are better without Rondo, but again, I say that is nuts.  That's just a small sample; it doesn't prove anything if you beat Sacramento or Orlando, two of the worst teams in the league.  Sure, the Celtics beat the Heat last week, but there's no way they could beat them 4 times in the playoffs.  It just can't happen.  Like I said before, Rondo isn't the best PG in the league, but he is the most important player on the Celtics besides Kevin Garnett in terms of value.  And you can see from the way he plays that on nights, he can be the best player in the league.  I like to think of Rondo as Randy Moss sometimes because they take plays off, but when they're on, they are the best players at their positions.  Two different sports I know, but you see my point.

Trading Rondo or thinking the Celtics are better without him may seem good now, but in the long run, I don't think that will help.  Rondo is young now, and because of that, I think he will bounce back from this injury and come back stronger.  I know trading the veterans for young talent is the new thing now, but staying loyal can pay off, like it did last year.  I know Rondo can and does get on everyone's nerves, but his talent outweighs all of that.  Whether that leads to wins, I don't know, but I would like to see how it goes since Rondo is special.

Rondo showing that team leadership