NBA: Rajon Rondo Starting Over Lonzo Ball is a No-Brainer

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The move to start veteran Rajon Rondo over Lonzo Ball is a no-brainer for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Anyone who believes Lonzo Ball should be the Los Angeles Lakers’ starting point guard is silly — that’s a fact. If Tyler Ennis was the other option, yeah, he’d deserve the spot, but not when you have Rajon Rondo on the roster. Rondo, for all the flack he gets, is absolutely one of the 15 best point guards in the NBA — you can quote me on that.

And since Luke Walton is a smart guy, he confirmed Rondo would be the top option at point guard, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

“Luke Walton told me today that Rajon Rondo will be the Lakers’ starting point guard to start the year.”  –Dave McMenamin on ESPN’s Lakers Talk

Don’t be surprised, please. Lonzo will still get a lot of minutes off the bench but Rondo is adored by the Lakers’ best player, LeBron James, and at this point, he’s just the better player.

https://twitter.com/CaseyP_Sports/status/1044769577245331456

And don’t tell me that he can’t shoot, he’s improved so much from downtown since leaving Boston. Check it out below:

Rondo Three-Point Shooting Comparisons:

  • With Boston (2006-14): 109-for-433 (25.1 percent)
  • After Boston (2014-18): 181-for-507 (35.7 percent)

The numbers speak for themselves. Yet, if those aren’t enough for the naysayers, you should know that Rondo’s three-point percentage in 2017-18 was higher than a lot of players who are thought to be better shooters: former MVP Russell Westbrook, former Eastern Conference scoring king Isaiah Thomas, supposed sharpshooter Tim Hardaway Jr., four-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan, 3-and-D master Draymond Green, and you guessed it, Lonzo Ball. The list, literally, goes on and on but Rondo is still perceived as a poor shooter. I digress…

READ: PODCAST INTERVIEW WITH FORMER ESPN WRITER JEFF PEARLMAN

If you’ve followed Rondo over the last few years, you know he comes alive when the games count. In fact, the media even made up a nickname for him during these instances: “Playoff Rondo.”

In 2016-17 with the eighth-seeded Chicago Bulls, he put the team on his back to beat the top-seeded Boston Celtics in the first two games of their first-round series. Had he not gotten hurt, they DEFINITELY would have won the series instead of losing the next four games consecutively. Then last year alongside Anthony Davis, he led the sixth-seeded New Orleans Pelicans to an upset over the third-seeded Portland Trail Blazers. “Playoff Rondo” was born during this series and by the end of the postseason, his 12.2 assists per game led all players. Overall, he’s nearly averaged a triple-double in his last two postseason stints while playing excellent defense throughout.

Rajon Rondo Playoff Stats Since 2016:

  • GP: 11
  • PPG: 10.5
  • APG: 11.8
  • RPG: 7.7
  • SPG: 1.8
  • FG%: 42
  • 3FG%: 32

On a team that’s relevant all year, he’ll be that guy 100 percent of the time, guaranteed.

CATEGORY: NBA