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Rajon Rondo Discussion: He's A Cleveland Cavalier

Discussion in 'NBA Discussion' started by therealdeal, Jul 2, 2018.

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karacha Moderator Staff Member

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JSM said: ↑

...I guess it will depend on just how...
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...soon he sprains one of his fingers again.

karacha, Oct 10, 2021

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…. sprains a finger / mangles a hand

LTLakerFan, Oct 10, 2021

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I said it the minute we got him. Rondo is going to play a lot of regular season minutes.

There is no such thing as sitting him all season then rely on him in the playoffs. Basketball doesn’t work that way. Players have to get reps in with each other to get a feel for one another’s tendencies, how they like the ball delivered, hands etc… that goes double for a PG.

Then you get the fact that Vogel trusts him and won’t bench him for bad stretches of play, like he didn’t in the championship run. You should expect to see Rondo on the court a lot this season IMO.

Barnstable, Oct 10, 2021

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Barnstable said: ↑

I said it the minute we got him. Rondo is going to play a lot of regular season minutes.

There is no such thing as sitting him all season then rely on him in the playoffs. Basketball doesn’t work that way. Players have to get reps in with each other to get a feel for one another’s tendencies, how they like the ball delivered, hands etc… that goes double for a PG.

Then you get the fact that Vogel trusts him and won’t bench him for bad stretches of play, like he didn’t in the championship run. You should expect to see Rondo on the court a lot this season IMO.
Click to expand...

I really hope this is true.

Toklat, Oct 10, 2021

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Barnstable said: ↑

I said it the minute we got him. Rondo is going to play a lot of regular season minutes.

There is no such thing as sitting him all season then rely on him in the playoffs. Basketball doesn’t work that way. . .
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The 2019-20 tenants know something about that.

IE Lakers, Oct 10, 2021

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They're a hell of a pair. I think AD received more lob passes from Rondo this pre-season than he did from DS all of last year.

Also, Rondo is looking pretty close to Bubble Rondo--9 boards, 5 dimes. Three looks good. Decision making and passes are good. He's not going all out defensively and was actually a liability on that end vs. GS, but it is pre-season.

JSM, Oct 13, 2021

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Bill Oram - The Athletic

Why Rajon Rondo believes Anthony Davis is in for an MVP year: ‘We go as he goes’

In August, Rajon Rondo found himself in a familiar position. Freshly waived by the Memphis Grizzlies, the 35-year-old point guard was a free agent for the seventh straight season, once again able to choose where he played.

For the third time in the last five of those years, he made a decision that put him on the same team as Anthony Davis.

They are persistently linked, these two. One is a sage veteran who understands his most productive years are behind him; the other is a transcendent, ascendant big man who just logged the worst year of his career. Is it any surprise they would find each other once again?

“They have a two-man chemistry like very few two-man combos that I’ve ever witnessed,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said.

Now entering their third season together, there is a perception that Rondo is some sort of codebreaker who can unlock the best version of the eight-time All-Star.

Rondo chuckled at the characterization. He understands he is unlikely to play many minutes this season next to Davis. As he settles into something closer to an end-of-the-bench mentorship role, he has ceded the playmaking duties next to Davis to Russell Westbrook and LeBron James. Sitting in a folding chair on the Lakers practice court on the day before the star-laden Lakers were set to open the regular season, Rondo said, “No, I can’t take credit for that.”

However, the defining moments of Davis’ career seem to always involve Rondo. Not only were they teammates for the Lakers’ bubble championship, but when Davis delivered the 2020 postseason’s defining moment, the game-winning 3 over Denver in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals, it was Rondo who zipped him the pass.

Two years before that, they teamed up in New Orleans to sweep the higher-seeded Portland Trail Blazers in the first round.

It adds up to a catalog of experience that gives Rondo a unique perspective on Davis, the player he believes will determine how successful this particular Lakers experiment can be.

“My expectation for him this year is MVP,” Rondo said. “Nothing less than MVP and a championship, and he’s a guy that can do it.”

It’s a lofty goal for a player who was widely seen as an MVP favorite last season before missing 36 regular-season games, exactly half of the COVID-19-shortened season, mostly with tendinosis in his right Achilles and a related calf strain. Recovered from that, Davis was unable to stay on the court in the Lakers’ first-round loss to Phoenix, suffering a groin strain in Game 4 that essentially represented the white flag in the Lakers title defense.

Rondo said he did not pay close attention to Davis’ season after he left. Shortly after the Lakers’ bubble triumph, Rondo signed a two-year, $15 million deal with Atlanta. Traded midseason to the Clippers and benched in the postseason, Rondo was once again on the move in the summer, traded to Memphis in a salary-clearing move for the Clippers. As he considered a return to the Lakers, Rondo got a clear view of the situation he had left behind.

“I had no clue what happened last year,” he said. “Coming back and talking to Frank and Rob, they told me about the year he had, and obviously, he wasn’t happy or satisfied with his performance.”

Not only did Davis miss more games than he had in his career, but also he posted career lows in field goal percentage, rebounds and blocks. His 21.8 points per game were Davis’ lowest average since his second year in the league. He shot a career-worst percentage on free throws while getting to the line fewer times than in any year since he was a 19-year-old rookie.

Davis spent his summer rehabbing from his injuries and planning for his September wedding.

“He was getting married, he had a lot of things going on this summer,” Rondo said. “He was (of) clear mind. He didn’t talk much about (the last season). Obviously, he said we want to have you back, but it wasn’t too much like he had a crazy year, now he wants me back. It was talking life and basketball.”

That all factors into why Rondo is so confident in Davis rebounding in a major way.

On a team loaded with future Hall of Famers, Davis has, inexplicably, been something of an overlooked figure. He represents one-third of a big three in which the other two players have already won league Most Valuable Player awards: Russell Westbrook in 2017 and James a whopping four times.

“People stopped talking about him or whatever you want to say,” Rondo said. “But the expectations of this team, if we’re the No. 1 seed or we’re heading into the playoffs the top-ranked dogs and A.D.’s the leading scorer, A.D.’s our defensive anchor, then you have to put him in that (MVP) category.”

When James and Westbrook sat out the first two games of the Lakers’ exhibition schedule, Davis insisted on being on the floor.

“I just wanted to play,” he said after the Lakers lost to Brooklyn in the preseason opener. “I didn’t get to play much last season from the injuries.”

Said Vogel of the Lakers’ superstar big man: “He’s very motivated to have a bounce-back year from what happened last year. We were all disappointed that he wasn’t able to be at his best due to the injuries and the lack of the offseason. But he’s definitely put in the work this offseason, he looks really good and we’ll all be pushing each other.”

Rondo’s role on the court may be the smallest of his career. Even Davis acknowledged recently that Rondo’s greatest contribution may be as a replacement for Jared Dudley, the locker room leader who retired after last season.

“It’s good to have his mind,” Davis said, “his voice, leadership. He brings all that to our team. You can’t put a value on that.”

The fanfare around Rondo’s arrival paled in comparison to that of Westbrook. As much as Westbrook might feel like an awkward fit next to the ball-dominant James, it is just as logical of a fit with Davis.

Last season, Davis struggled in the pick-and-roll game with Dennis Schröder, the point guard brought in after Rondo’s departure. Schröder was more inclined to look for his own shot on the drive than to feed Davis.

Westbrook, who led the league in assists last season for the third time in his career, is wired differently.

“I think their chemistry will be fine,” Rondo said. “Russ and Dennis are different type of guards, different style of guards, and with the type of talent we have around us this year, we all have to sacrifice. A.D. might not have the amount of touches that he wants even though he’s our No.1 option offensively. But at the same time we … have so many weapons from one through at least 12 (who) are pretty good offensive players.”

In the Lakers preseason loss to Golden State on Oct. 12, Davis caught multiple lobs from Rondo for dunks, while later acknowledging he and Westbrook still needed to develop their own rhythm.

“Me and ‘Do just had a connection,” Davis said. “Just reading him, him reading me, he knows where to be, I know where to be.”

With Westbrook, it’s just … new.

“I’m trying to get that connection down with Russ,” Davis said. “I’m pretty sure we’ll get it and we’ll have some fun, but me and ‘Do, our chemistry has been there for so long.”

The Lakers are willing to be patient with the cohesion of their team. Only three players are back from last year’s team — although three more members of the last title team, Rondo, Dwight Howard and Avery Bradley, came back after a year spent elsewhere — so there is a lot to learn.

“Obviously like any new player getting used to each other, there’s miscues early,” Vogel said of Davis and Westbrook.

Asked whether Rondo could help ease the transition for Westbrook by sharing some tricks of the A.D. trade, Vogel seemed to be on board.

“I don’t know if they are having private conversations,” he said. “I’m sure they are, knowing Rondo. But every time we show Rondo setting up A.D., we’re communicating those type of setups with the group. And I think Rondo being around that Russ-A.D. chemistry is only going to facilitate and make it happen faster.”

Rondo said that, so far, Westbrook hasn’t asked and that “he’s figuring it out on his own.”

“Russ is an extremely smart guy, and it won’t take him long to pick it up,” Rondo said. “Obviously, he’s an established player, so he’ll get the time and he’ll get the chemistry. It does take time, but at the same time, he’s a quick learner. If you show Russ something once, he’ll pick it up right away. And understand, he’s an unselfish guy. Plays the right way. A.D.’s not going to complain too often about not getting the ball, because if he does, I usually just tell him go get it off the glass. Get it off the glass on both ends of the floor, and you create your points that way.”

Rondo rejects the notion that he is any kind of Anthony Davis whisperer. But he acknowledges their bond.

He has dished out passes to the likes of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. He’s gone head-to-head with LeBron James. But, he says, “A.D.’s one of my top favorites. He does so many things on the floor. He can dictate and dominate the game other ways than scoring.”

He added: “He’s always been, for me, the best guy on the court every time I’ve been on the court.”

As the Lakers learned last year in a season derailed, in large part, by Davis’ injuries, it doesn’t take much to dash championship dreams. When the Lakers start their march back toward the NBA Finals, even with the addition of a third in-his-prime headliner in Westbrook and a supporting cast of accomplished veterans, it is clear how much still rests on Davis’ shoulders.

“We go as he goes,” Rondo said. “Hopefully everyone stays healthy. And if that’s the case, we’ll be tough to beat four times before we beat you four times.”
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JSM, Oct 20, 2021

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WTF is Rondo playing 20 mpg?

I thought he is going to be more of an assistant coach. I'll be ticked if this continues after the other guys come back.

Rondo doesn't belong into the regular season games anymore.

KB24, Oct 21, 2021

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he was mostly good in the preseason, and lots of guys are hurt. plus i think they realized nunn and THT aren't pgs.

abeer3, Oct 21, 2021

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KB24 said: ↑

WTF is Rondo playing 20 mpg?

I thought he is going to be more of an assistant coach. I'll be ticked if this continues after the other guys come back.

Rondo doesn't belong into the regular season games anymore.
Click to expand...

Rondo is a better fit than Westbrook on this team, even if WB is a better player overall when on a bad to mediocre team. In Game 1, Westbrook was -23, and Rondo was +16 when not playing next to Westbrook (and still +1 overall even though the team lost by 7). I expect this type of trend to continue.

I want Nunn and Monk and others to play more, but at the expense of Westbrook, who needs to mainly just lead the 2nd unit, or play with AD, but limit the minutes he plays with LeBron. Rondo is a good floor general until Nunn or eventually THT or someone else shows they can run the team.

Panko, Oct 21, 2021

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'Do on the altercation and our start

JSM, Oct 24, 2021

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Count on Rondo to bring some leadership - and keep us updated. We're fortunate to have him on our team again.

karacha, Oct 24, 2021

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Move over Scorsese

JSM, Oct 24, 2021

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I wonder why Rondo was a DNP-CD this game. Punishment for the fan finger gun incident, or something else?

Panko, Oct 25, 2021

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Panko said: ↑

I wonder why Rondo was a DNP-CD this game. Punishment for the fan finger gun incident, or something else?
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Great point: weird that they wouldn't give him a shot at Morant who was roasting everyone else

Pioneer10, Oct 25, 2021

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Keeping him out of sight until people forget about the finger-pointing incident.

karacha, Oct 25, 2021

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What did I miss with this fan fingering thing you speak of?

LTLakerFan, Oct 25, 2021

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https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-rajon-rondo-breaks-silence-on-finger-gun-incident-with-fan/amp/

The fan involved got ejected from Staples Center for putting his hands on Rondo. He’s likely going to serve some sort of ban. It remains to be seen, however, if the Lakers or the NBA will punish Rondo for his actions here.
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Panko, Oct 25, 2021

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OH. He said he was just pointing at the fan though …… (with that gun I counted he discharged 5 or 6 times ).

Yeah he will get fined for that fo sure.

LTLakerFan, Oct 25, 2021

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Vintage Rondo to AD!!!

Bryant, Nov 8, 2021

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