The Aaron Gordon to the Denver Nuggets and Nikola Vucevic to the Chicago Bulls trades of the world were fun and cute and all. Creating a Twitter melting pot none of us knew we needed. But ultimately, outside of Victor Oladipo headed to South Beach for essentially a bag of Fritos and a ruler astonishingly as the Harden trade’s top chip for Houston, the only deadline move on the radar in terms of moving the 2021 championship needle was former Los Angeles Lakers point guard Rondo back to LA.
Only this time around he’s got little brother’s jersey on. Just months ago this past offseason Rondo was reasonably the highest desired free agent acquisition for the Clippers with their glaring void in point guard production and leadership.
He opted to head to Atlanta on a short-term deal in somewhat of a head-scratching signing, coming off a ring with such an integral role. So in the past week or two, the point guard name that’s been floated around to fill that Clipper void at one guard is one Lonzo Ball. Like Rondo thrives as a facilitator and on & off ball defender.
More ideal from an age standpoint with Ball at 23 and it doesn’t hurt from a timing standpoint as well in terms of recently fixing that shooting elbow from a disgusting 160-degree angle to its proper 90-degree angle spot and subsequently improving there.
But Rondo has the championship pedigree and butt kicking, galvanizing effect on teammates, particularly during money time in the postseason. A crucial key for this group. Most importantly, with all of the overwhelming talent at guard and wing in the association, a Kawhi, Paul George, and Rondo perimeter trio is a scary one.
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Spelled by one “Pat Bev” who yes, is just running around most of his minutes but it can be effective with other great defenders at his hip. However, if the Lakers are fortunate enough to be healthy heading into May and beyond, any sensible NBA fan should expect a Lakers-Nets collision course for this years NBA Finals.
Much like the story with Laker opponents through last year’s playoffs, the Clippers’ frontcourt and depth is too scarce in ability collectively when matching up with the Lakers’ interior prowess.
The Clippers now must take advantage of an opportunity with LeBron and Anthony Davis sidelined by stringing together a winning streak and continuing to gain ground on them in the standings. The Lakers should continue to fall to teams with a pulse like the other night against Philadelphia considering ‘Eminem Kuzma’ is one of your top 2 scoring options.
Though he, Dennis Schroder and Montrezl Harrell all have talent and bring different valuable things to the table, the surrounding parts are a lot of declining vets and marginal role players elevated so evidently by one LBJ.
They won’t be able to sustain for four quarters most nights until he and the Brow return and get in a flow. Once they do, they immediately return to holding the title of most trusted and favored winner of the western conference, firmly.
However, the potential battle of LA that we’ve been wanting for some time now is spicier now with this Rondo move following each of the Laker franchise cornerstones falling to injuries.
Rajon Rondo does change the way the Los Angeles Clippers can play the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Clippers can create some matchup problems with Lakers ancillary players on the perimeter if LeBron isn’t able to expend much energy and effort on the defensive end because of this never-before-seen recent serious high ankle injury at 36.
This is even further enhanced with Rondo’s mind running the show as the consummate film room preparation asset this side of his just former teammate, LeBron. Fully familiar with his squad just months removed from playing on it. he’s also now alongside his new head coach, Ty Lue, who served for LeBron’s former Cavs.
Bottom line, it’s a potential opportunity that Kawhi and PG can pounce on but as we saw in the bubble, that’s hasnt exactly been their strong suit as a pairing. That’s why again, trust still lies with the healthy Lakers given the pedigree and greater top-heavy talent despite the Clippers’ ability to give them a scare with great performance.