Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers recently commented that he is looking forward to playing with Rajon Rondo once again.
The Los Angeles Lakers were able to have a very successful summer, in which they traded for and signed multiple new players.
The big acquisition for them was getting Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans. Davis is without a doubt one of the best big men in the NBA. He is able to pretty much do it all on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court.
While Davis might not have had the success that he would have liked in New Orleans, he is primed to help the Lakers become title contenders.
With all of the new faces on the Lakers, some are actually familiar with each other. On the Pelicans, Davis was teamed up with Rajon Rondo. Rondo was re-signed this offseason, and will be playing in Los Angeles for the second straight season.
Recently, Davis spoke about looking forward to playing with Rondo once again in Los Angeles. Here’s what he had to say to Peter Flax of Redbull.com.
"“I’ve got Rondo back as my point guard — he’s a guy I can count on to get the ball in my sweet spot.”"
It wasn’t too long ago when Davis and Rondo were having success in New Orleans. If not for the season-ending injury to DeMarcus Cousins that season, the Pelicans might have been a threat in the Western Conference.
However, Rondo didn’t have a great season with the Lakers last year. While his per-game numbers were good, the Lakers really struggled when he was on the court defensively. This season, the Lakers appear to be heavily focused on being one of the best defensive teams in the league.
With guards like Avery Bradley and Alex Caruso, Rondo will have to be engaged on the defensive end of the court in addition to running the offense if he wants to play significant minutes.
Some of Rondo’s poor defense numbers could also be attributed to the team overall falling apart on that end of the court. While he certainly isn’t the defender he once was, he should be capable of being better this coming season.
On the offensive end, players certainly love playing with a point guard like Rondo. As Davis said in the interview, Rondo gets you the ball where you are comfortable and able to score. Playing with a point guard like this is always a big man’s dream.
With the season right around the corner, it will be interesting to see if Rondo and Davis still have their chemistry from New Orleans. If they do, we might see Vogel prioritize playing them together.