What if this is the year Rajon Rondo can finally shoot?

Rondo buried this 3 in the playoffs last spring.

Granted the Boston point guard did miss both his free throws last night, but going into the game he had been 11-11 from the line so far this preseason.  In fact his FT% of 100 was more than double the season completion rate (49.7%) of New York Jets starting QB Mark Sanchez.  I sent this stat out to Celtics radio play by play man Sean Grande, who responded by saying "I had one ready with Rondo's FT% vs. A-Rod's batting average in October;" which sits at .130 this postseason.

But making fun of New York athletes aside, it looks like Rondo has a new level of confidence (and hopefully accuracy) in his jump shot this year.  We saw flashes of this in the playoffs last season.  In Game 7 vs. Philly he nailed two long jumpers and 4 of 4 FT attempts down the stretch to ice the series.  Then in his epic Game 2 performance in Miami he made every shot he took (4-4 FG, 2-2 FT, 2-2 3PT) in overtime while scoring all 12 of Boston's points in the extra frame (man, it still hurts thinking about the end of that game).

I've always believed Rondo could be a very good shooter.  Three years ago in the All-Star Game "Horse Competition" it came down to him and Kevin Durant in the finals.  The two of them matched each other from beyond the arc for 9 or 10 straight buckets before Rondo finally missed.  His ability has never been in question, I think he's just lacked the attitude of a big time shot maker.  But if this is the season he adds that to his game, the rest of the league is in serious trouble.

Follow Mark on twitter @LucidSportsFan