On November 4, Beijing time, the Lakers will face the Thunder at home tomorrow, and the last time the two sides met, the Lakers were tragically reversed in the case of a 26-point lead at one point, losing the only game in the last six games. But at present, the Lakers are in the midst of a fiery 3-game winning streak, coupled with the gradual integration of the three giants of James, Davis and Westbrook, tomorrow they have a great chance to avenge the Thunder and win 4 consecutive wins.
After a struggle in the preseason and early season, the Lakers now seem to have finally found the right way to win, and the team's rotation lineup is gradually becoming clear, which means that the team's injured players may need to perform better after their return to have a way to grab some time from the current rotation players. Among them, the most worrying thing is actually Rondo.
So far, Rondo has missed 3 games, embarrassingly, the team in his play, the record is only 2 wins and 3 losses, but in his absence days, the Lakers have achieved 3 wins and 0 losses, for a time about whether Rondo is still suitable for the Lakers, whether he affected the lakers' normal play and other topics have been constantly discussed, many people think that the current Rondo, the value of the Lakers on the field has not been much.
If you look at the data, Rondo's help to the Lakers on the court is indeed limited, so far this season, Rondo has only averaged 6 points, 1.8 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game, and has 2.3 turnovers per game. Although Rondo still has a strong sense of winning and willpower, his physical fitness and competitive state have indeed plummeted since last season, and he has not been healthy, coupled with the Lakers' current guard line personnel, in the next game, if Rondo is completely reduced to a water dispenser administrator, it may not be surprising.
So the question is, is Rondo really useless, is it really a mistake for the Lakers to sign him? In fact, on the contrary, Rondo is actually very important to the Lakers. First of all, for Vogel, Rondo is already a very qualified "assistant coach", this season with the departure of Kidd and Hollins, two assistant coaches, Vogel suddenly lost his left arm, the team's system building became difficult, and Rondo spent more time after the injury, as well as coaching teammates on the sidelines, it can be said that the Lakers' recent 3 consecutive wins, the sidelines are more like a coach Rondo is indispensable.
Second, the presence of Rondo can stimulate Davis. This season's Davis has gradually returned to the form of the 2019-2020 season, the dominance of both offensive and defensive ends is very strong, and this season's thick eyebrows are obviously more positive than last season's laziness. Many fans believe that Rondo's return has played a role in supervising to some extent, such as Thick Brow once said that Rondo asked him to walk on the free throw line at least two or three times per quarter in the game, and Thick Brow has always been very convinced of Rondo, so he is willing to play more aggressively. Looking back at the past two seasons, when the Lakers had Rondo and no Rondo, the thick eyebrows were completely two states, and this alone, Rondo's value was extraordinary.
Finally and most importantly, the Lakers currently have a lot of guards, but in addition to Wei Shao, the rest are young people, and the playoff experience is even more pitiful, at this time, having a mentor like Rondo can help them grow up quickly. Especially for the Lakers' new favorite Reeves, he can be like the original Caruso, get Rondo's pouring in, and eventually become the Lakers' substitute toughster.
To sum up, Rondo's value to the Lakers is actually more not on the court, and off the court, the Lakers should have thought of this when they signed him, otherwise the Lakers would not have chosen so many guards to grab Rondo's time. One day in the future, Rondo will take off his jersey and become the head coach of the Lakers, which may not be surprising.