Sports Illustrated ranks Rajon Rondo 40th best NBA player; 13th best point guard?

This week Sports Illustrated is ranking the top 100 players in the NBA, with Rajon Rondo checking in at No. 40.  And unless Avery Bradley, Jeff Green or Jared Sullinger magically cracks the top 20 (which haven't been released yet), Rondo will be the only Celtics player on the list.  Here's some of SI's less than glowing critique of Rondo's game:

We know how good Rondo can be. He's dominated playoff series. He led the NBA in assists in back-to-back seasons. He's sly. He's athletic. He makes jaw-dropping plays through magnetic creativity...The complete Rondo, however, can't be contained so neatly in a highlight reel, not when he drifts, mails in games and comes with a mess of baggage...Rondo is one of the most difficult players in the league to value...Rondo regularly ignores the right play for a flashy pass. No point guard hunts assists so overtly, as Rondo will shrug off open layups to find a teammate for a worse shot. Bad judgment diminishes the value of his all-world court vision...Folded into this is Rondo's aversion to shooting...To make matters worse, Rondo's defensive contributions are hugely overblown based on a dated reputation...Not since the 2009-10 season have the Celtics played better defense (as measured by points allowed per possession) with Rondo on the floor...To add one more complicating layer to all of this, Rondo has established himself as the kind of personality that makes running a team difficult.

Ugh.

Now consider this--the following players are all ranked above Rondo: Goran Dragic (35), Eric Bledsoe (33), Mike Conley (32), John Wall (31), Kyle Lowry (30), Derrick Rose (23), Damian Lillard (22) and Kyrie Irving (21).  Undoubtedly Tony Parker, Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook and Chris Paul will all be in the top 20, meaning Rondo is the 13th best point guard on this list.

Wow.



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