Who are your lock HOFers that are playing right now?

[ThoseBackPages]

annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd thanks to that damn Jordan "20 anniversary" auto, 06/07 Fleer Box is out of question

 

[Tomlinson21RB]

its amazing that Rondo didnt have much hype coming into the league, right?

i see he only has one topps rc, where most of the "top" prospects have two in the set

Very little hype. The Suns actually sold the pick that the Celtics used to get him.

I went to a quite a few games that year because I was living in Boston, and even in the preseason I saw flashes of pure brilliance on the court. He attacked the basket repeatedly, didn't get pushed around by vets, played amazing defense, and show what kind of passer he was. Of course, Doc then buried him on the bench playing junk point guards like Sebastian Telfair ahead of him.

 

[Anthony K.]

its amazing that Rondo didnt have much hype coming into the league, right?

i see he only has one topps rc, where most of the "top" prospects have two in the set

To be fair, he wasn't that heralded coming out of college (he went INTO college as a top prospect), since he only averaged 11 points, 6 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals a game. Not exactly tearing up the floor, ya know?

Plus, he didn't really blossom until his 3rd season (all the blame should be put on the HC for thinking Delonte West and Sebastian Telfair should start over ANYONE), with his big breakout coming in the playoffs, when he damn near average a triple double (16.9-9.7-9.8, pt-reb-ass).

But seriously, his lack of RC cards and low scoring hold him back the most. I really think if he averaged 15 points a game with his 12-15 assists and 2+ steals, he would be considered the #3 PG in all of basketball (with only CP3 and Deron higher than him).

 

[TonyButlerStopSuckin]

I really wouldn't be shocked if, in a few years once KG, Pierce and Allen are gone, Rondo boosts his scoring up to around 18 a game. He's almost an unstoppable driver and I think his lack of scoring has more to do with who play around him. He's the 4th option of that team, imagine if the 50 points that the Big 3 take up werent there anymore.

 

[rymflaherty]

I'm a huge Lakers fan but one guy that is still young and I think will definitely make it if he keeps it up is Rondo.

There's no other PG like him right now and I honestly think he's going to be top 5 in the MVP voting as long as the Celtics are still in the mix. If he can win one or even two more championships (which I hope he doesn't), I think he's got a pretty decent shot.

I know it's been three games, but he's averaging 10.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 16.7 apg, and 2.0 steals. This kid is unbelievably fun to watch.

I'll agree if he can develop a better jumpshot. He has improved but still needs some work. Damn, once he does develop one lookout. He will be one of the best guards in the game.

I'm just going to throw it out there now, but between passing, defense and rebounding he should already be considered one of the best guards in the game.

That said, I'm starting to wonder if we're getting to the point in his career where we have to stop saying "if he develops a jump shot." It's such a glaring hole in his game that you would think that's what he would focus on year round in practice, but he still hasn't shown a drastic improvement. I think the key with him will just be efficient scoring. He'll never be a 20-25 ppg guy like Chris Paul, but he should always be a 12-15 ppg player with a .500+ shooting percentage.

In no way am I a Celtics fan - and I would never criticize Rondo's game because he may not be a reliable jump shooter. At this point - he's doing so much - I have to question, does it even matter?
I mean really how many players have ever been amazing in all areas of the game - and at this point he pretty much exceeds all other PG's in a ton of other areas.....

Sure it would be nice if he shoot a bit better, but even with defenders playing off him, his game seems to be fine without an elite jumpshoot.....if anything, when players play off him it seems to give him better passing lanes and even more ways to attack the defense.....so really maybe that's best for him. If he was pulling up and taking 18 ft. jumpers (even if he was hitting 50%) then he's probably not getting 17 assists and he's probably not playing the type of game that has proven so successful.

So just my opinion, but I think too much criticism of that aspect of his game is unwarranted, and it wouldn't stop me from acknowledging his greatness.

 

[jkeys]

LOCK HOF'ers right now:

Shaq
Kobe
LeBron
Tim Duncan
Jason Kidd
Kevin Garnett
Allen Iverson (overseas but stil active)

Could make a case for Ray Allen & Paul Pierce also but wouldn't put them in the category above.

- jkeys