Los Angeles Lakers: Rajon Rondo’s return will help take pressure off stars

The Los Angeles Lakers have gotten Rajon Rondo back in the lineup and his return will help take the pressure off of the team’s star players.

We are three games into Rajon Rondo‘s return to the floor for the Los Angeles Lakers, and he already looks like he is midseason form. Many Lakers fans and critics alike were not anticipating Rondo’s return with much excitement, but he can help take some of the load off of the Lakers’ two stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

The main thing that was evident from his first game back against the Phoenix Suns was his ability to get his teammates involved, an area he has obviously excelled in throughout his career. He finished the game with seven assists, and that is the second-highest single-game assist total for someone not named LeBron this season, in only 14.3 minutes.

It is Year 16 for LeBron, and so far this season, he has to carry almost the entire playmaking load. This has led him to be the league leader in assists up until this point, but that level of production might not be sustainable at this point in King James’ career.

That is where Rondo comes into play. Not only can he help run the second unit, but he will also take some pressure off of James when he is on the court on offense as well. James and Anthony Davis are currently ranked 21st and 22nd in the league in usage rate respectively, and that ranking should go down with Rondo inserted into the lineup.

There did not seem to be anything bothering Rondo in his debut, and he said he “felt fine” in the post-game press conference. He also told reporters a few ways in which he felt he could help the team moving forward, saying,

"“Just not going stretches without our main guys touching the ball and getting good looks. Taking care of the ball as well, and getting back on defense,”"

Head coach Frank Vogel also had some good things to say about Rondo in his post-game presser, in regards to the Lakers offense.

Compare that to the 106.8 average offensive rating that the Lakers had prior to his arrival, the benefit of him being on the court is pretty glaring.

Another positive about Rondo’s return is the already built up chemistry with the other star in Los Angeles, Anthony Davis. Davis and Rondo enjoyed playing alongside one another in New Orleans, and it was already evident in their first game playing together in Los Angeles.

More from Lake Show Life

• Darvin Ham adds to Max Christie hype train after Lakers preseason opener
• Is LeBron James playing tonight? Latest Lakers vs Warriors update
• Can Darvin Ham put all of the Lakers puzzle pieces together?
• Lakers news: Darvin Ham knows his fifth starter, LeBron James and Rui Hachimura, Jalen Hood-Schifino praise
• Michael Malone’s painfully ironic comment has Lakers fans heated

With Rondo on the court, Davis had an offensive rating of 121.1, a defensive rating of 100, and a net rating of 21.1. Without him on the court, he had an offensive rating of 64.7, a defensive rating of 75, and a net rating of -10.3. It is a minuscule sample size of only eight minutes, but these numbers suggest that Davis is a better player with Rondo helping feed him the ball.

Watching the Lakers for the during the spectacular 11-2 start, it has been obvious that James and Davis have been leaned on a little too much on the offensive end. Now with Kyle Kuzma and Rajon Rondo back in the lineup, they will have both a go-to scorer and a capable facilitator coming off the bench for them, to help remedy that issue.

Rajon Rondo has been a solid performer in every phase of his career. From being the up and comer on a legendary Celtics team to now being the grizzled veteran on a Los Angeles Lakers team seemingly poised for a deep postseason run.

His basketball IQ and championship pedigree alone would be enough to help him help Davis and James lead the team, but it seems he has enough in the tank for his tangible basketball skills to help them get into the championship picture as well.