I thought the Cavaliers would continue to mess up this season, but I didn't expect that in this small-ball era, the Cavaliers' three-high lineup actually succeeded, and the Cavaliers are currently ranked fourth in the East with a record of 33 wins and 21 losses, and there is no all-star player in the team, and this civilian Cavaliers is indeed a surprise. And all this is due to the Cavaliers' backcourt Rubio and Garland, the two point guards who mainly pass the ball have done a good job of organizing the team's offensive work, Rubio also happens to be in the contract year, which looks like everything is moving in a good direction, but Rubio suffered a torn left knee CRUS season reimbursement, which had to let the Cavaliers reintroduce a veteran to replace Rubio, and Rondo came to the Cavaliers at this time.
I thought that this season's Longduo return to the Lakers will get the same treatment as the championship season, but the Lakers have too many people on the outside line this year, and it is difficult for Rondo to get stable playing time, and the Lakers just want to free up a place to strengthen, and Rondo has become a trading chip. However, Rondo, who came to the Cavaliers, got more ball rights and playing time, and Long's guidance became a reliable member of the Cavaliers bench, averaging 16 minutes per game in 18 appearances, averaging 16 minutes per game, only 3.1 points, 2.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists, shooting only 32.4%, and shooting 26.7% from three-point range, while coming to the Cavaliers Rondo averaged 20.5 minutes per game and could get 7.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists, although the shooting percentage was still only 36.4%. Fortunately, Rondo's three-point shot was back, and the Cavaliers Rondo's average shots per game doubled.
And in the Cavaliers against the Pacers, Rondo played 31 minutes off the bench, 5 of 10 shots, 4 of 4 from three points, 4 of 5 from the free throw line, 15 points, 5 rebounds, 12 assists and 1 steal, scoring a personal season high, setting a new season high in assists, and getting the first double-double of the Cavaliers career, which was also the first time Rondo played 30 minutes this season, Rondo contributed 7 points and 7 assists in the last quarter, and threaded the needle to help the team achieve a 20-point turnaround. Rondo still has oil, as long as he is given enough playing time, Rondo is still a rare organizer in the league, the 35-year-old Rondo's organizational passing ability on the court is definitely no less than that of the 36-year-old Paul, these two are the last traditional point guards in the league, the ball quotient of the two people is also comparable, but at this stage, Rondo's personal offensive ability has slipped too much, he does not have Paul's stable middle shot, but on the organizational ability, these two are top-notch.
The Cavaliers also began to prepare for the playoffs, the Cavaliers used Rubio + 1 first-round pick + 2 second-round picks from the Pacers to get Carris LeVert + 1 second-round pick, the transaction also shows that the Cavaliers have corrected the role of Rondo's backup point guard, the Cavaliers considered Brogdon's absence LeVert's experience of leading the team alone, thinking that LeVert can not only partner with Garland, but also lead the second team. In addition, although LeVert has not played a full season due to injury, the Cavaliers believe that LeVert is one of the most talented players in the current trading market, and one of the Cavaliers' goals before the deadline is to increase the ability to score and organize at the backcourt while avoiding taxes, and LeVert is the most suitable. Now that the Cavaliers' roster strength has improved, think of Rondo + LeVert + Lefour on the bench, this lineup at least in the regular season is no problem.
Rondo brings the Cavaliers not only veteran experience, he will play more of the role of Garland mentor, Garland is only 22 years old this year he will be the Cavaliers' future point guard on the first choice, and we can see that this season whether it is Rubio or Rondo has brought a lot of help to Garland, this season Garland has become an all-star player, garland's performance on the court is more mature, which is also the experience and leadership that Cavaliers head coach Bikstaff hopes to bring, Rondo is a player to help the Cavaliers' young team grow, both mentally and emotionally. His performances in Rondo's debut for the Cavaliers conquered the young players on the team, and some of them were excited about Rondo's performances, including Garland, who has been listening to every word he says since Rondo arrived, both on the court and at the dinner table.
As far as the current state of Rondo is what the Cavaliers want, the regular season can play efficient games, then we have all seen the performance of Rondo in the playoffs, only to fear that the playoffs Rondo will become more terrible. Facing Lillard at the Pelicans Rondo that year was not vain at all, and even arranged Lillard clearly on the defensive end, Rondo played nearly 9 points and 7 assists in the park Lakers playoffs, and Rondo was the Lakers' best ball controller after James that year. And now in the face of such a young lineup as the Cavaliers, the young people whose playoff experience is blank are exactly the need for an experienced veteran like Rondo to lead, and if the Cavaliers want to make a difference in the playoffs this season, Rondo's play is indispensable, and I believe that fans also want to see the playoffs long guide a lesson again.
As Rondo himself put it: "I'm sure these guys wouldn't have a championship mentality at the beginning of the season, but now it's time to turn the switch on and understand that we need some respect, we have to earn respect in the playoffs, we can compete with any opponent." Even at the age of 35, Rondo still wants to face the game at a high level, it turns out that Rondo leaving the Lakers is a correct decision, as a two-time championship winning member, Rondo's value is not only mentioned in the current statistics, we have seen Rondo more than once on the tactical board to lay out tactics, his basketball IQ will bring a lot of things to a team. And the Cavaliers' first double-double is just the beginning, don't forget that Rondo has only made 10 appearances for the Cavaliers, and by the time Rondo is fully familiar with his teammates, Rondo should have a better performance.