Philadelphia 76ers coach Doug Collins: We must stop Rajon Rondo in game-4 – NBA Playoffs Update
Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doug Collins has made clear to his team that they must get their act together for game-4 of the Eastern Conference Semi Finals against the Boston Celtics. The coach has demanded an improvement on defence and particularly on
defending Celtics star Rajon Rondo.
Rondo was in devastating form in game-3 when he scored netted a double-double with over 20 points and over 10 assists. Rondo was a constant thorn in Philadelphia’s flesh, poking and probing throughout the game and tearing the defence apart time and again.
Collins does not want to see a repeat performance.
“For whatever reason, we didn’t have a lot of energy,” Collins said, after going down 2-1 in the series. “We didn’t have that bounce. We just didn’t. Rondo was a one-man fast break. A couple of times, I stopped the tape and showed them that he scored on
a 1-on-4. That can’t happen. That can’t happen.”
Rondo is one of the best point guards in the league. No doubt he lacks the flash of a Derrick Rose or the outside threat of a Deron Williams, but the Celtics playmaker is still one of the best at breaking down defences and finding his teammates.
In a team like Boston, where they are a number of veterans and the onus is largely on defence, Rondo is the one who runs the attack. Collins knows that stopping him will go a long way to stopping the Celtics.
The coach then explained that Jrue Holiday is someone on his team he was looking for an improvement from, on the defensive end. Collins believes that Evan Turner and Andre Iguodala do a good enough job, but the rotations are messy.
“I think Jrue (Holiday) has to make a little bit of adjustment,” Collins said. “In our last series, he was more off the ball, chasing Rip Hamilton. Now, he has to get engaged on the ball. We started out the game with Evan (Turner on Rondo) because we like
his size.”
The Sixers stole an away win at the TD Garden but with Boston’s resounding 107-91 at the Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia need to bounce back immediately or go down 3 – 1 in the series.
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