LOS ANGELES – To say this season hasn’t exactly gone according to plan for the Lakers would be a bit of an understatement. The crush of trade rumors started the second LeBron James signed in Los Angeles, with Lakers Twitter as quick as they’ve ever been in photoshopping stars into yellow and gold. Expectations, tempered or not, were always going to be high with James in the fold, but after playing their way into the upper half of the Western Conference heading into Christmas, keeping things in context was becoming increasingly difficult.
Then the injury bug hit; an already tumultuous regular season has turned into an all-hands emergency with the hopes of keeping their heads above water. The bench looks like it has taken advantage of a Joseph A. Bank sale, buying a suit for James and getting three for free that now belong to the promising young trio of Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, and Josh Hart.
To those wondering why the Lakers dug deep on that one-year deal to sign Rajon Rondo over the summer, this stretch is Exhibit A. Rondo joked after the team’s sloppy win over the Suns on Sunday that he’s missed 60 games already (the Lakers have played 50), but now that he’s healthy and back in the rotation, he’s providing some semblance of order to the chaos that has Los Angeles turned to 11 on the sports radio circuit. Almost every young player (and even most vets) are being Trade Machined, every game LeBron continues to sit potentially pushes the team further down the Western Conference standings, and questions about head coach Luke Walton’s job security get a bit louder.
None of that is for Rondo to worry about. He’s here for one thing and one thing only.
“My job as the point guard on the floor, the quarterback, is to get guys into open spots where they can be most effective,” Rondo said following the 116-102 victory over Phoenix.
Rondo was placed on earth to do this, and when he’s not able to, you can see it physically paining him. It irks the veteran guard far more than the epitomization of an enormous sigh that is Rondo being forced into taking a jump shot when he can make a pass instead. To his credit, his time off the floor in the games he missed due to multiple injuries this year helped develop his coaching acumen that much further — utilizing that sport coat as a weapon and pushing the young Lakers to communicate more, be more cohesive, and find their identity.
“It’s really nice to have him back,” Walton said Sunday. “He knows who needs shots, who’s hot. He knows how to manipulate screens, read defenses, find out that they’re switching [Michael Beasley], so he brings Beasley over to give him a post-up. He also just makes the right play. There are people who go out there and hunt assists and only make the pass if it’s going to give them an assist and that’s not him. He’s going to make the right play, and if that leads to an assist, it does, but if it leads to someone else getting a bucket, he’s fine with that too.”
It’s hard enough when you have James to assume a role that’s anything other than “play with LeBron James,” but when James is out, and the air is sucked out of that hole in the plane, and maintaining pressurization is outright impossible. Identity isn’t the first thing on anyone’s mind, survival is. For young players, the default is to go back to what you know and to focus on the self rather than the individual as part of a collective.
For Rondo, survival starts with making things easier for those around him.
“Having a point guard like that makes the game a lot easier,” forward Brandon Ingram said after the game Sunday. “He sees the floor really well. He sees the guys that are open. He draws up plays out there. He just makes guys feel comfortable and confident in their game.”
In his two games back, Rondo has claimed double digit assists both times. Only four players on the Lakers have claimed double-digit assist games this year: James, Ball, Rondo, and Ingram. Only three of those four have done that multiple times: James, Ball, and Rondo. Only one of those players, Rondo, is currently healthy.
That’s not to say that Rondo is a balm that fixes all ailments. His defense has lost a step, and the teammates he’s giving the ball to have to make those shots. There already aren’t a myriad of players who can create their own shot on the Lakers on a regular basis, and if injuries continue to creep up, no one player – save for LeBron – can overcome that. But having Rondo on the floor translates the sticking points he emphasized while he was on the sidelines into practice. He’s the stabilizing force the Lakers otherwise do not have elsewhere.
Been hearing about how good Rondo has been for young players since he played for the Bulls.. Always has a one of the best IQ in the game but to be able to relate to the upcoming generation shows how he can become a future coach! https://t.co/aUDqGlNSWV
— Jared Dudley (@JaredDudley619) January 23, 2019
To swim you have to first learn how to tread water, and Rondo is keeping the Lakers from drowning right now. That might just be enough until James returns for the final playoff push.
