Rajon Rondo is about to return to Boston for the first time since being traded to the Dallas Mavericks, and that has sparked numerous discussions about him as a player and his time with the organization. Rondo had played for the Celtics for his entire career, and he was a key contributor on the 2008 title team.
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One of the issues that has people talking is Rondo and his defense. For years, Rondo was regarded as an elite defender at the point guard position. However, he took criticism earlier in the year for his perceived lack of effort. Since being traded to Dallas, many have argued that Rondo has picked up his intensity on the defensive end of the floor.
"I haven't played defense in a couple of years," said Rondo. "I've been able to hide it a lot with Avery Bradley on the ball. He's helped me out, the young guy. But here they expect me to play defense. And in the West, if you don't play defense you'll get embarrassed every night at the point guard position. I took it as a challenge [for] myself."
"It's not just me," Rondo continued. "It's my teammates. Our communication is getting a lot better and our coverages are getting better. So it's the whole team concept, it's not just me. Obviously people are going to look at the stats and say, 'Since Rondo's came there, they're down seven or eight points or whatever defensively.' But we still have a lot of room to improve and I believe we'll still get better defensively."
Rondo has admitted that his return to Boston will be emotional for him, but he is looking forward to going back.
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