Whenever he's recovered from his calf injury, veteran point guard Rajon Rondo will start in “a lot of games” for the Los Angeles Lakers this season, according to head coach Frank Vogel.
Rondo missed the Lakers' first game against the LA Clippers, but could be back on Friday versus the Utah Jazz after having a strong practice on Thursday.
The Lakers started LeBron James, Danny Green, Avery Bradley, Anthony Davis and JaVale McGee against the Clippers. It sounds like Rondo will replace Bradley in the starting lineup:
Vogel says that when Rondo is indeed back there will be “a lot of games where he’s our starting point guard.” Said he would likely fill Avery Bradley’s spot.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) October 24, 2019
Last season for the Lakers, Rondo averaged 9.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 8.0 assists in 46 games. The four-time All-Star and NBA champion shot 40.5 percent from the floor, 35.9 percent from 3-point range and 63.9 percent from the free-throw line.
Rondo is a more traditional point guard than James and already has a strong rapport with Davis. The two were teammates during the 2017-18 season on the New Orleans Pelicans.
Besides being an elite floor general, Rondo will have to make open jumpers for the Lakers this season. Because LeBron and Davis are going to command so much attention when they put their heads down and drive to the basket, Rondo and the rest of the perimeter players on the Lakers have to be ready to knock down open shots.
Rondo is a career 31.5 percent shooter from beyond the arc. Vogel did reveal a few weeks ago that Rondo “has shot the heck out of the basketball from the 3-point line” in offseason workouts. We’ll see if that is the case when Rondo returns from his injury.
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