Rondo Re-Aggravates Hand Injury

By A. Sherrod Blakely
CSNNE.com

NEW ORLEANS — Boston Celtics guard Rajon Rondo has not been himself recently, and now we know why.

The Celtics' all-star point guard has been battling a right pinkie injury, one that Rondo said has been bothering him for the past couple of weeks.

Rondo revealed the injury following Boston's 89-85 win at New Orleans, a game in which Rondo re-aggravated the injury and had to leave the game.

"My finger, my hand went numb," Rondo said. "I was a little concerned about it, going back in."

Rondo eventually returned to the floor, with the finger taped up - something he said he has been doing for the past couple of weeks.

Even before Saturday's win, there were signs that Rondo was starting to get closer to playing like he has throughout most of this season.

On Saturday, Rondo had his jumper going to the tune of nine points on 4-for-8 shooting from the field.

"They were cool. It felt good to hit a shot, more than one," quipped Rondo. "It was a relief. Coaches kept believing in me. I kept working at it, put the time and effort in."

He'll need to continue doing that, because teams will continue to give him the mid-range jumper until he forces them to defend him more straight-up.

As for his injury, it's not expected to keep him out of action.

But it does give Celtics head coach Doc Rivers another reason to continue pursuing ways to cut his minutes down.

During Boston's up and down play of late, a reduction in Rondo's minutes has indeed occurred.

He averages more than 34 minutes per game this season, but has played fewer than that in each of Boston's last five games.

Rivers has marveled at times at how Rondo has grown both as a player and a person, one who is on the road to recovery from his first major slump since emerging as one of the league's top point guards.

"This has been good for him," Rivers said. "You go through stages in your career, you go through struggles. This was really good for him."


112288

I guess I'm skeptical of this report. As anyone who plays the game knows, you get fingers injured all the time. A pinky? Tape it to the ring finger and let's go. Take a close look at any game this time of year and see how many players have their fingers taped up. I've seen players get dislocations and be back in the same game, and that's with an index or middle finger, which are far more crucial for shooting and ballhandling. Unless it's a displaced fracture, I can't see that this is the reason behind his recent subpar play. Even then, has his finger slowed him down so that he can't blow by anyone like he used to? Does the pinky prevent him from playing the kind of defense we've come to expect?

I may not find the pinky story believable, but I do find the last part revealing, where Doc praises Rondo. With that part in mind, serving up the finger injury for public consumption sounds like a way to provide Rondo cover while he works his way through his issues, whatever they may be, and it shows me that Doc is willing to get out front and protect him, and all that makes me believe that Doc has a handle on the situation. It's been worrisome that the team hasn't really given any explanation up to this point for Rondo's slump, and even more worrisome that KG said one thing and Doc said another, but I'll take this latest development as a positive sign, even though I think it's a smokescreen.

Outside

I was getting the NOH feed Saturday on the NBA channel and the announcer asked his side kick and color commentator Gil McGregor why was Rondo playing so poorly. His answer without blinking an eye was ......................

"It's known throughout the league by insiders that Rondo is pissed off by the Perkins deal and is pouting."

Could make sense after what Sam pointed out about Danny calling out Ronso during two summer's ago to grow up and the fact that Doc often said that Rondo was extremely head strong.

112288

Poor doc doesn't know whether to spank the kid or give him a hug.

I hope he's had better luck raising his own children.

GC

Outside,

I believe the pinkie means more to Rondo than to most players. Rondo's approach to passing, shooting, ballhandling, and retaining control of the ball involves grasping the ball rather than cradling the ball as many players do. (I'd prefer to use the word "palming," but my meaning could be misinterpreted to imply illegally carrying the ball.)

• We've all seen his behind-the-back fake (in which he pulls the ball back) which definitely requires fully grasping the ball. Has anyone seen it lately?

• His drive from the left for backhanded layups involves spinning the ball, which he's able to do particularly well because of his full grasp on the ball. He has now missed two of those in two games because he didn't put enough spin on the ball.

• His problems from the free throw line stem at least partially from the fact that he grasps the ball rather than cradling it in a more orthodox manner.

• One of his tricks in rebounding is being able to reach up and secure the ball with his shooting hand and quickly bring it down. His rebounding figures are way down.

• I've always said that, if he gets close to a loose ball, the ball seems to gravitate to his hand. That's because his grasp is like glue. That's seldom happening lately. Most of his steals now are with two hands.

• Depending on how seriously injured the pinky is, I don't believe he can control the ball in a manner that makes him comfortable or fully proficient. While two-finger taping doesn't affect many players all that much, it could be an impediment for a player who makes much of his living precisely because of his outsized hands.

I'm not trying to make excuses for Rondo. But I do believe the mechanics to which I've alluded could very well be affecting every phase of his game because they force him to be more deliberate rather than playing on instinct, which he usually does quite well.

Hey, wouldn't it be a hidden blessing if his jump-shooting success in the most recent game were a sign of a silver lining in which being forced to cradle the ball instead of grasping it when shooting made him a better shooter? When I was 13, I was such a fan of Bob Cousy that I wanted to emulate his one-hand push shot. I screwed a rather flimsy basket into the shingles on the house in our back year, stood about 30 feet from the hoop and kept firing shots like throwing a baseball because I just wasn't strong enough to get the ball up there. Then I realized that throwing it more like a shot put gave me more distance and arc. I'd spit on my hands to get traction before every shot, and occasionally the ball went in the hoop.

Meanwhile, the hoop was soon flattened against the side of the house due to all the misses and we put up a real backboard and hoop on the garage. The only two problems were that, if you drove to that hoop, you'd wind up pasted to the garage door like Wile E Coyote; and there were windows in the garage door that we quickly learned had to be covered by very strong wire mesh.

Anyway, I was really inconsistent with my shooting until a coach told me I was trying to grasp the ball when shooting. My hands were too small for that, and spitting on them only exacerbated a bad habit. So (and this is the point of the story) he told me to try shooting with gloves on, which would force me to cradle the ball on my fingers rather than to try abortively to grasp it. Since it was winter anyway, I did that, and I was amazed at how my accuracy increased, even at a distance. When spring came, I removed the gloves but kept cradling the ball, and my stock in trade on the basketball was always outside shooting after that (including one from the top of the other team's key in one game).

I can't help but wonder whether Rondo's "palming" habit when shooting away from the hoop (especially with hands that are probably triple the size of mine) might be solved not by wearing gloves but by being forced by a pinkie to cradle the ball.

Sam

Hi,
Why in the world Doc doesn't sit him down for a couple of games?
Doc said it himself that the health is more important than seeding. RR is obviously hurt. I don't get it.
The only explanation I have is there's some kind of psychological issue and Doc et al decided that the best cure for it keep RR in the game.
In any case they have only 4 weeks to figure what's wrong with him and/or fix it.

AK

Sam,

With the injury to Rondo's pinkie, does that mean he must forgo "High Tea" in the afternoon's after practice? Is it not proper etiquette to lift your pinkie high while holding your tea cup while sipping tea?

Inquiring minds are asking.

112288

112288,

Thank god that custom has nothing to do with the middle finger.

How's Chloe?

Sam

Sam,

I'm not denying that having an injured finger affects your play. But I've got to twist logic into one tortuous pretzel to believe that the finger is the primary reason behind his recent extended string of subpar play. A factor, sure, but here's what keeps me from believing it's even a significant factor:

-- It's a pinky, the finger that's easiest to compensate for.

-- For basketball players, injured fingers go with the territory. With all his steals, all the times he's poked at the ball or stuck a hand out in the passing lane, am I supposed to believe he hasn't hurt a finger like this before? Because if this is the reason for a month of poor play, the implication to me is that he hasn't had to deal with anything like this before, at least since the start of 2007-08, and I find that hard to believe.

-- You've watched him more than I have over the past month, so correct me if I'm wrong, but the times I've watched him, his defense has been poor. Rondo has been arguably the best defensive point guard in the game, was all-defensive first team last season (receiving more votes from the league's coaches than anyone except Dwight Howard), and yet from what I've seen over the past month, opposing guards are blowing by him like he's Derek Fisher. That is not a pinky issue.

Tell me that it's plantar faciitis, hamstrings, ulcers, hepatitis, or mono. Face up to the fact that his play took a significant drop after his best friend on the team was traded. Say that he's affected by integrating all the new players. But I cannot accept that the primary reason for all this is his finger. If he's that fragile that an injured finger can totally throw him off his game, then you'd better trade him the first chance you get. Personally, I don't believe that. I think he's shown that he's one tough hombre when it comes to playing with injuries.

I also can't go for the "he misses Shaq" argument since Shaq has missed 32 of 68 games and only averaged 20 minutes a game when has played. They have a nice synergy together, but it's not like Rondo is Superman when Shaq plays and Clark Kent when Shaq sits.

What I believe is that it's a combination of factors, physical and mental/emotional, and that in particular, Rondo is showing his youth by letting the Perk trade mess with his head for such an extended period of time. Players getting traded, even best friends, is part of the game, and dealing with such a personally jarring aspect of the game is part of being a professional.

Rather than ramble on, I'll quote from Jackie McMullen's recent article (http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/nba/columns/story?columnist=macmullan_jackie&id=6239361).

"It's a mix and match of things," he [Rondo] said slowly. "I haven't been playing well. Aches and pains. And we had the trade with Perk [Kendrick Perkins].

"He's a guy I spent a lot of time with. I'm not saying that's why I'm playing bad. You just appreciate somebody more when they're gone.

"We were best friends. We're talking more now than we did when he was here. It's been tough. I know other guys have been through it, but I haven't.

"We went through everything together, right from the beginning. I missed the USA basketball camp so I could be at his wedding.

"When we were on the road, there was never any question we'd be hanging out together. It was 'What are we going to do tonight?' or 'Let's go here and there.' So now it's a little different.

"I'm not saying I'm no lost puppy. He didn't die or anything. But he's a good person."

Perk isn't coming back -- but Rondo is. His shot is on the mend. The feeling is back in his hand. He's convinced he is almost on the other side of one of those dark periods that every NBA veteran encounters in his career, when nothing seems to go right.

And if that last part is right, that Rondo's getting his game back -- and I think it is -- then in a couple of weeks, all this will be moot and everyone will be talking about how great it is have him back again.

Outside

Sam,

Chloe is doing fine, thanks for asking. Right eye now at about 75-80%. Still waiting on spinal tap results.

PS Have you thought about organizing and writing about past history I suggested?

112288

sam wrote:112288,

Thank god that custom has nothing to do with the middle finger.

How's Chloe?

Sam

The origin of "the middle finger" is quite interesting! Well at least this version which is my favorite. (I'm sure there are many more)

Before the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, the French, anticipating victory over the English, proposed to cut off the middle finger of all captured English soldiers. Without the middle finger it would be impossible to draw the renowned English longbow and therefore [soldiers would] be incapable of fighting in the future. This famous weapon was made of the native English yew tree, and the act of drawing the longbow was known as "plucking the yew." Much to the bewilderment of the French, the English won a major upset and began mocking the French by waving their middle fingers at the defeated French, saying, "See, we can still pluck yew!"

Over the years some "folk etymologies" have grown up around this symbolic gesture. Since "pluck yew" is rather difficult to say, like "pheasant mother plucker," which is who you had to go to for the feathers used on the arrows for the longbow, the difficult consonant cluster at the beginning has gradually changed to a labiodental fricative "f," and thus the words often used in conjunction with the one-finger salute are mistakenly thought to have something to do with an intimate encounter. It is also because of the pheasant feathers on the arrows that the gesture is known as "giving the bird."

bobc33 wrote:

sam wrote:112288,

Thank god that custom has nothing to do with the middle finger.

How's Chloe?

Sam

The origin of "the middle finger" is quite interesting! Well at least this version which is my favorite. (I'm sure there are many more)

Before the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, the French, anticipating victory over the English, proposed to cut off the middle finger of all captured English soldiers. Without the middle finger it would be impossible to draw the renowned English longbow and therefore [soldiers would] be incapable of fighting in the future. This famous weapon was made of the native English yew tree, and the act of drawing the longbow was known as "plucking the yew." Much to the bewilderment of the French, the English won a major upset and began mocking the French by waving their middle fingers at the defeated French, saying, "See, we can still pluck yew!"

Over the years some "folk etymologies" have grown up around this symbolic gesture. Since "pluck yew" is rather difficult to say, like "pheasant mother plucker," which is who you had to go to for the feathers used on the arrows for the longbow, the difficult consonant cluster at the beginning has gradually changed to a labiodental fricative "f," and thus the words often used in conjunction with the one-finger salute are mistakenly thought to have something to do with an intimate encounter. It is also because of the pheasant feathers on the arrows that the gesture is known as "giving the bird."

only here, can one further his education like this!

beat

Outside,

I don't believe I stated that the pinkie is the "primary reason" for Rondo's problems. Maybe you can point to where I suggested that.

I do believe it's a contributing factor—more so for him that it would be to most PGs who don't depend so much on the advantage of outsized hands to weave their respective brands of magic. And I don't believe I've seen anyone else advance that theory, which is why I did so.

I have also steadily maintained that Perk's absence is a contributing and lingering factor. But I believe that any ennui relating to teammates involves more than simply Perk. I think Rondo has worked hard all year to facilitate chemistry on this team despite the discontinuity among his playmates. And, just at the point where that chemistry was pretty consistent, 50% of the cast of characters changed and necessitated backtracking in his responsibilities for chemistry cultivation.

To someone who plays a game heavily fueled by adrenalin, I believe that was a psychological blow from which he hasn't fully recovered yet.

So I hope I am not superficial enough to suggest that it's simply one factor that has been a blow to Rondo. And, while a lot of people are calling for him to get more rest, I'm not at all convinced that's as much an antidote as giving him MORE repetitions would be (within reason and tempered injuries he may have). I believe that improved chemistry will be a tonic for Rondo but that it's been a psychological struggle for him to climb that mountain once again.

Sam

Bob,

Mr. Encyclopaedia Britannica....look at you showing off!

112288

Hey Bob, that's really great!

Sam

My guess is that Rondo's "slump" has the full attention of Celtic management and that his long term stock has taken a rather significant hit.

And what happens next time emotionally fragile Rondo faces difficult/stressful times? There is a awful lot of money riding on the answer to this question.

A whole lot of money!!!

And with his father figure Doc likely leaving..... hmmmmm!

GC

sinus007 wrote:Hi,
Why in the world Doc doesn't sit him down for a couple of games?
Doc said it himself that the health is more important than seeding. RR is obviously hurt. I don't get it.
The only explanation I have is there's some kind of psychological issue and Doc et al decided that the best cure for it keep RR in the game.
In any case they have only 4 weeks to figure what's wrong with him and/or fix it.

AK

I've been saying for a week to sit him or anyone else that needs a break, get a massage, some accupuncture, get some steam, etc. It a long season, shit my attendance at work isn't perfect.

Sam,

I'll rephrase my response. The article in 112288's original post in this thread suggests that Rondo's pinky is the primary reason, or at least a significant one, for his poor play. It seemed like you took up a defense of that position, but you made clear in your second post that you didn't intend to justify it as the only factor, or even a primary one. I hope that's a fair assessment.

Let me just say that your theory is an interesting one, but I'd still put the pinky way down the list of factors contributing to Rondo's recent poor play and not worthy of anything close to the significance that the article in 112288's original post in this thread suggests. That was half of what I wanted to get across.

The other half is that I see signs that Rondo's issues are being addressed, by him and the team, and that I'm optimistic that he'll be playing much better soon. I hope that's the case, and I hope that's the half we focus on in the coming weeks.

Outside

Outside,

I've always felt that, whatever the mix of factors causing Rondo's problems, they would be addressed prior to the playoffs. And I believe we're seeing signs of that now.

Sam

112288,

I neglected to answer your question about the history stuff. I'm still thinking it over and determining how to approach it. I may sound out the board because I'm still concerned about the possible ego concerns I mentioned. Anyway, I have a couple of trips coming up, and then the playoffs (which i hope will last long into June), and then we'll see.

I do appreciate the suggestion. I just want to avoid impressions of self-interest.

Sam

gacracker wrote:My guess is that Rondo's "slump" has the full attention of Celtic management and that his long term stock has taken a rather significant hit.

And what happens next time emotionally fragile Rondo faces difficult/stressful times? There is a awful lot of money riding on the answer to this question.

A whole lot of money!!!

And with his father figure Doc likely leaving..... hmmmmm!

GC

Talk about creating an issue where there ISNT one.

Celtics just won their 50th game - 13 games ahead of last season's pace. That is with a LOT of injuries and a major injection of new players mid stream. Rondo has not been playing well, but claiming that a few bad games in a career season is reason to question his long term value is just ridiculous.

I don't really think there's an issue here.

Long season, couple of dings.

Rondo will be fine.