With 37 Assists in Two Games, Rajon Rondo Officially Owns Brooklyn (Full Highlights)

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People say a lot of negative stuff about Rajon Rondo, with only a portion of the comments totally accurate. Some call him weird. Others, they say he hunts for stats all the time. While both, at least to a degree, hold weight, the one thing that’s totally off-base are questions of his talent.

Rondo, once a shoo-in for the All-Star game, now gets bunched into the washed-up category far too often. He doesn’t belong with the Dwyane Wade’s of the world or alongside Derrick Rose. No, these days, Rondo belongs on the high-end of the mid-level, next to, say, Ricky Rubio, Lonzo Ball, or even Eric Bledsoe.

In 527 games with Boston, Rajon Rondo made just 109 three-pointers at a 25-percent clip. But since he left the Celtics, he’s made 55 more (164) in 300 less games (227).

On Saturday night, Rondo started pulling from his old bag of tricks against the Brooklyn Nets — a team he’s absolutely owned this year. He was pulling all sorts of stunts, getting to the cup at will and dropping dimes left and right. In total, he finished with 25 points, 12 assists, and 10 boards, giving him his second triple-double of the year. The Pelicans won the game in triple-overtime.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTMC1gikUWI

The last time Rondo played Brooklyn (also a win), he sonned them just like he did on Saturday. You remember…that was the game he dropped 25 helpers out of nowhere. Through two games versus the Nets this year, the 31-year old has a plus-minus of 46 with a very Rondo-like statline: 13.5 PPG, 18.5 APG, and 8.5 RPG.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYGWB-bzDEU

While he missed his only two three-point field goals in those games, Rondo deserves an applause for his improvement from beyond the arc. He’s taken a lot of shit for his outside shooting over the years, but since he left the Celtics he’s shot 36.3 percent from deep (compared to just 25.1 percent with Boston).

More importantly, he’s confident with his stroke and has obviously put the time in to get better. It’s crazy, in 227 games since leaving Boston he’s made 164 threes, but when he was with the Celtics he made just 109 in 527 games.

Rondo for President.

Shoutout to @DawkinsMTA for the best NBA highlight videos around.