Rajon Rondon Might Be a Pain In The Ass, But His Basketball IQ Shined Through Last Night

FTW - It’s moments like these that make you realize why teams would want Rajon Rondo. The enigmatic point guard is having a bit of a renaissance this year with the Sacramento Kings, and he showed his value again on Thursday night during the closing seconds of Kings-Hawks. With the Hawks trailing 3 points and inbounding the ball, Rondo understood the situation — they needed a 3-pointer — and instructed teammate DeMarcus Cousins to go guard nobody in the corner. Cousins listened to him.

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I’m not a Rondo guy. He’s a pain in the ass as a teammate, can’t shoot, is a bit too self-absorbed…but you can never doubt his basketball IQ. And it shined through last night when he outcoached the Hawks on the final play, while getting DeMarcus Cousins to listen to him. That alone should put him in the running for MVP. Surprised we don’t this more often in the NBA- Rondo was smart enough to realize the Hawks can’t do anything besides shoot a corner 3 there so he screamed at Cousins to stand in the corner instead of mark his guy and get lost in the screens. It’s little things like this that I love watching about the NBA. There’s so many dumb players in the league…like really, really dumb players, that when I see something like this it makes me happy. Because although all the hacking, all the fouling, all the poor free throw shooting, the traveling, and the flopping, there are so many small intricacies that make the sport great. Can’t imagine if every player used their brains this way.