*Original from the bleacher
Rajon Rondo is expected to be absent for 6-8 weeks due to a broken finger, which means that it also includes Ever, who previously announced that he would not participate in the NBA rematch. With Lee Bradley, the Los Angeles Lakers have lost two generals in their rotation. Head coach Frank Vogel needs to rearrange his lineup.
Rondo’s injury is undoubtedly another heavy blow to the Lakers. Now Vogel’s backcourt is left with Kentavios Caldwell-Pop, Danny Green, and Alex. Caruso, Quinn Cook, Dion Waiters, and JR Smith.
Waiters was a player signed before the NBA suspension, and Smith was used to replace Bradley. Since they are now a member of the rotation, finding a way to keep them up is the most important.
Because Rondo is missing from the game due to an injury, the Lakers cannot sign another player to replace him. Although it is said that he will not miss all the remaining games, but based on the current injury schedule, he can only return to the team in the second round of the playoffs at the earliest, and will return in the Western Conference finals at the latest.
However, for Rondo, even if he returns successfully, his position may already belong to someone else.
The detrimental effect of losing Rondo on the Lakers
Although Rondo’s playing time per game has reached a career-low 20.5 minutes, Rondo is for the Lakers That is very important.
Generally speaking, Rondo will play the last 4 minutes of the first and third quarters and the first 6 minutes of the second and fourth quarters, a large part of which is to allow James to return to the bench Get some rest. He can buy Vogel some time, which is like a bench pitcher on a baseball field to win a game. Now the Lakers' rotation needs to be changed, and the roles of players also need to be re-adjusted.
In this season, the Lakers over-relied on James to create opportunities for everyone on the team. Rondo is the second organizer after James. He averaged 5 assists per game and an assist rate of 34%. The team's assist rate (at least 30 games) after him and James is the best at 14.8% of Anthony Davis.
The loss of the team's second organizer made the burden on James' shoulders heavier, and he must continue to serve his teammates. Vogel emphasized in a recent Zoom conference that "the loss of Rondo is a major loss for our entire team" and his absence will cause more damage in the early stages.
Loss of Rondo's beneficial impact on the Lakers
Without Rondo on the court, the Lakers can become a better team on both ends of the offense and defense.
On the offensive end, they can score 4.1 points per 100 offenses without Rondo, which is the largest of the team's rotation players.
Rondo has made 31.6 percent of his three-pointers in his career, so shooting is not one of his skills, and shooting has always been one of the problems that plagued the Lakers. Rondo can shrink defense when on the court, and they are very willing to let him create space for James and Davis on the court. The team's three-pointer percentage was 36.6% when Rondo was not on the court and 33.3% when on the court.
Rondo's performance on the defensive end has made his career more brilliant, but as he grows older, his defense is also degrading.
This season, with the 34-year-old veteran on the court, the Lakers' defensive efficiency reached 107.3, which is higher than their overall 105.5.
After Rondo is injured, Carrudo's playing time will increase. He is also an important member of the Lakers' defensive end. They achieved the best defensive efficiency when Caruso was on the court (at least 500 minutes): 100.3.
When Rondo is not on the court, the team can do better defensively and offensively, which is more conducive to The team wins.
Who will be the nextA dazzling star?
As Rondo is absent due to injury and Bradley retires, the playing time of Caruso, Caldwell-Pop and Green will increase.
is not a bad thing for the Lakers. Whenever any of these three players play, their net points will be higher. Caruso can reach +10.3, Green +8.7, and spectrum +5.6. With a small sample of 100 minutes, the net score of the three of them can reach 28.2. Hope to see more deployment brought by lineup restrictions.
For Cook, Rondo's injury can also improve his playing time. Although he cannot be the second organizer of the team, he can be used as another option to create space on the court. In the 2019-2020 season, his shooting percentage was 37.9%.
Another thing worth paying attention to is how the Lakers use Waiters. Since Rondo is injured, Vogel has to adjust according to Waiters' strengths to meet the needs of the team.
"Losing Rondo will have to rely more on Dion, so I look forward to seeing his performance on the court during the game." Vogel said. Especially important is that the Lakers will try their best to tap his "ability to stabilize the game."
Generally speaking, compared to the playoffs, the loss of Rondo's ability to organize offense will be more worrying in the first eight games of the rematch.
In the playoffs, James' playing time will increase.
His average playing time per playoff game throughout his career was 42 minutes. After the 2017-18 regular season, that is, his most recent playoff game, he averaged 41.9 minutes per game. That year, he averaged 36.9 minutes per game with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the regular season.
This season, James averaged 34.9 minutes per game. When the playoffs begin, it is likely to increase to more than 40 minutes. Without the core of the top organization, the Lakers will survive even less.
The backcourt is missing two generals, which is very difficult for coach Vogel, but once the playoffs begin, there will be Rondo and Bradley. The lineup will also face reduction. And this whole season, the Lakers have a better choice, they could have replaced Rondo.
The eight-week absence of the point guard is definitely a blow to the team, but it is not as serious as people initially thought.
Rondo's name and prestige are greater than his value on the Lakers court. Losing him is acceptable to the Lakers.
