Los Angeles Lakers: 5 Reasons Rajon Rondo should be re-signed
By Robert Marvi
1. Playoff Rondo is a thing
The Lakers are a franchise that cares about one thing, and one thing only: winning world championships. It’s not enough for them to “make some noise” in the playoffs, or even to reach the NBA Finals.
This is where Rondo will be a big factor.
As of now, they’ll be relying on guys like Ball, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Caruso and Josh Hart to be key contributors, none of whom have played a single minute in the postseason. Experience matters, and it really helps to have a floor general who’s been there and done that.
As previously mentioned, Rondo has been to the championship series twice, and we remember those classic battles with the Celtics. You can’t teach experience, but Rondo’s presence can help keep the young guys calm and even-keeled when the bright lights of the NBA Playoffs threaten to blind or discombobulate them.
He also tends to play better in the playoffs. For his career, he’s averaged 10.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 8.5 assists in 31.7 minutes during the regular season. During the NBA’s “second season”, he has upped those numbers to 14 points, 6.1 rebounds and 9.3 assists in 37.6 minutes per game. Twice he’s led the league in assists per game for an entire postseason – in 2012 and just last year (2018).
(Before you stat geeks try to point out the discrepancy in Rondo’s regular season and playoff minutes played, Rondo’s per 36 playoff numbers are still higher than his per 36 regular season numbers)
In the 2010 NBA Playoffs, arguably his coming-out party, he posted 15.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 9.3 assists and even shot 37.5 percent from downtown en route to taking Boston to the brink of their second NBA championship in three seasons.
Next. 10 Greatest Free Agent Signings In Lakers History. dark
As we all know, during the playoffs, coaches shorten their rotations and give most of the playing time to their top seven or eight guys. If the Lakers are playing for the NBA title next June in Milwaukee, Toronto, Philly, Boston or even NYC next June, who would you rather have playing significant minutes: the battle-tested Rondo, or one of the guys I mentioned in the last slide?