The Los Angeles Lakers are dealing with several injuries to guards on the roster, which led to Rajon Rondo playing 20 minutes on opening night against the Golden State Warriors.
When the Lakers signed Rondo, both he and head coach Frank Vogel acknowledged he likely wouldn’t play much given how many guards L.A. had on the roster.
But with Talen Horton-Tucker, Kendrick Nunn and Wayne Ellington out with injuries — Malik Monk returned — Vogel elevated Rondo’s spot in the rotation.
Vogel explained after the game why that happened and what the plan is for Rondo going forward.
“We’re depleted at the perimeter spot right now with Talen, Monk and Ellington, all those guys being out, we just signed Avery (Bradley), so we’ll see where he fits,” Vogel said.
Vogel pointed to Rondo’s familiarity with the scheme from 2019-20 as to why there’s that level of confidence in playing the veteran guard.
“Rondo is just somebody that I trust on the floor to execute our system and to play a smart game,” Vogel said. “He was really good tonight.”
In those minutes, Rondo put up three points (1-of-4 shooting), five assists, two steals and three turnovers. He had both good and bad moments, mostly bad when paired with Russell Westbrook, but the 35-year-old guard is certainly a reliable player in specific situations.
It’ll be interesting to see how his minutes look when the younger guards are back on the court.
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