On the heels of Rajon Rondo’s 29-point, 18-rebound, 13-assist effort in Game 4, LeBron James has made it clear that he wants to cover Rondo in Game 5.
In fact, according to one courtside observer, James and Cleveland coach Mike Brown got into a heated discussion about whether James should cover Rondo at the critical moments of the fourth quarter. Brown ultimately decided against it, but that could change moving forward.
“I would love to,” James said after Rondo had eviscerated the Cavs with 29 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists. “It’s something we maybe should explore because Rondo is definitely dominating this series at the point guard position. For me, I don’t have a problem taking Rondo or guarding Rondo throughout the course of the game. If the coaching staff or the guys want me to do it, I will.”
The issue here is Mo Williams. He is not a good defender, and he can’t hang with Rondo. So the Cavs have Anthony Parker on the Celtics’ point guard and Williams on Ray Allen. If Mike Brown elects to put LeBron on Rondo, then he’ll have to put Parker on Paul Pierce, who has been very quiet in this series. Pierce is averaging just 12-3-3 on 32% shooting, likely due to the fact that LeBron has been up to the task defensively.
Pierce (6-7) has about an inch on Parker (6-6), but he probably has 20 lbs on him as well, which means he could get his game going in the post. The C’s need to be ready to use Pierce on the block if the Cavs elect to put LeBron on Rondo.
What’s amazing about Rondo is how productive he is despite his inaccuracy from 16+ feet. Of the 40 point guards who averaged 25+ minutes, Rondo has the fourth-lowest FG% from 16-23 feet. (By the way, the third-lowest clip belongs to Tyreke Evans, so it’s not unheard of to dominate play with a poor jumper.) Only Andre Miller and T.J. Ford are worse from 3PT range than Rondo.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
