Rajon Rondo thinks the Chicago Bulls' three-headed monster of himself, Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade will be formidable. He's not paying attention to those who doubt that they'll be able to play effectively together. In fact, in an interview with Vincent Goodwill for SLAM, Rondo said he laughs at that idea:
"I was able to quarterback with so many future Hall of Famers. I learned how to keep guys happy," Rondo says, referring to his days in Boston. "I had to laugh about it--myself, Jimmy and D-Wade 'not getting along.' I've seen it first-hand with the Big Three. Three guys with different backgrounds and they were able to come together."
Rondo, like everybody else in the Bulls organization, has to be optimistic about this situation. So what that he and Wade haven't been above-average defenders for years? So what that teams packed the paint against Chicago in the preseason? These three playmakers have to do whatever they can to make this work, and, as the point guard, Rondo is the most important variable. It could help that, as he said, has has sort of done this before with the Boston Celtics' Big 3 of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen.
There are significant differences between that trio and this one, however, and those differences mean that Rondo's remarks might look silly in a month or two. Garnett, Pierce and Allen liked to operate from different areas on the court. Pierce and Allen spaced the floor out to the 3-point line and Garnett was one of the best midrange jump shooters in the league. Also, none of them had yet to lose a step defensively.
Some of the criticism toward this Bulls team has been about egos and sharing the ball. The questions about whether they can sacrifice or if the veterans will accept Butler's's leadership fit into this category. Other criticisms, though, have nothing to do with that. Even if Rondo, Wade and Butler have the best of intentions and get along fine in the locker room, they don't seem like a great fit on the court. None of them has a reliable 3-point shot, two of them have slipped significantly as defenders and one of them -- Rondo -- has a recent track record of struggling to run an efficient offense when not surrounded by shooters. Maybe they can somehow get creative and figure this out, but the doubts are there for valid reasons.
