Los Angeles Lakers regular season grades: Backcourt players

Rajon Rondo: F

Defensive Real Plus-Minus: -1.41 (11th)

Field-Goal Percentage Differential: +3.3 (11th)

Defensive Rating: 112.8 (12th)

Offensive Rating: 104.4 (8th)

On/Off Offensive Differential: -3.0 (10th)

Traditional Stats: 9 PPG, 8 APG, 5 RPG, .405 FG%

Rajon Rondo was the worst Lakers player during the 2018-2019 season.

The Purple and Gold were three points better on offense when Rondo was on the bench because of his lack of shooting. Often times opposing team’s sagged more than six feet off of Rondo when he got the ball on the perimeter, practically begging him to shoot a wide open jumper.

Rondo wasn’t comfortable taking wide-open jump shots, so he only averaged three from long distance per game. Rondo’s lack of a perimeter jumper allowed teams to clog up the middle, so the other four Lakers playing alongside Rondo couldn’t find clear driving lanes to the rim.

Rajon Rondo’s defense was cringe-worthy. He ranked 477th out of 516 players in defensive rating in the NBA. He allowed the player he was guarding to shoot more than three percentage points better than their average and according to defensive real plus-minus he was the 443rd rated defender in the league during the 2018-2019 season.

Rondo gets an F not only because of his awful advanced stats but also because after Lonzo got injured towards the end of January, Rajon Rondo had an opportunity to help steady the ship. Instead, during February when everything for the Purple and Gold was going sideways and the team needed a veteran to step up and help, he went the other way and let the Lakers sink.

During February Rondo averaged 28 minutes per game and had an incredible -21.6 overall net rating. His defensive rating also dipped from 112.8, down to 118.5 during the shortest month of the year.

The Lakers ended up going 3-6 that month and they never recovered.