Los Angeles Lakers season saved by Rajon Rondo, sink Boston Celtics

Rajon Rondo will be needed going forward, not only this season but the next

Rajon Rondo prepared the Lakers to win this game a day prior with his leadership, imparting his wisdom to keep the team together.

Now, understand that Rondo was one of the players that was offered in the pursuit of Anthony Davis. He could have easily sulked or harbored some resentment to the franchise for trading him less than six months after signing him.

He didn’t. Instead, he became an even stronger leader.

The Lakers did not have a scheduled practice on Wednesday, just a voluntary shoot around. Rondo took it upon himself to call some players in to work out and play some 1-on-1 up to 4-on-4 basketball games. As you can see, in this game, the players were a lot looser and played free.

Rajon Rondo owned the game with 17 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds, but it was more than that. He came out with a swagger and a belief that the Lakers could win this game and competed for 48 minutes. Even when things were going rough in the beginning, Rondo was right there coaching up his teammates.

A major thing Rondo brought to the table was his willingness to take the shot when open. There were instances early where Celtics guard Terry Rozier dared Rondo to shoot the jumper. Every time he was challenged, Rondo answered.

Rondo shot a very efficient 7-of-11 from the field including 3-of-4 from the land of the extra point. He made himself and offensive threat and kept things close in the first half.

But what made this game winner so cool was maybe his son helped him out earlier in the day! Rondo being a father and leader to his child earlier in the day is rewarded by being a hero and leader by the end of the night.

"“I practice those shots all the time,” said Rondo, who hit his first career go-ahead field goal in the final 10 seconds of fourth quarter or overtime. “Couldn’t imagine it being in the Garden though. … This is one I’ll be playing for the rest of my life.”"

Hoop dreams for real!