Getty LeBron James & Rajon Rondo helping Josh Hart up.
Rajon Rondo headed to the NBA bubble looking like he was in the best shape of his career and the Los Angeles Lakers were getting ready to unleash “Playoff Rondo” onto the league. He’s has a long history of injuries throughout his career and he just had several months off to get healthy. Unfortunately, the injury bug bit him once again as he fractured his wrist at practice.
He’s going to be out for six to eight weeks which will keep him out for a chunk of the playoffs. Josh Hart is no longer on the Lakers but he had a chance to play with Rondo last season. He had some strong words of support for his former teammate.
Rondo hasn’t played at a consistently high level for several years but he almost always shows up for the playoffs. With the loss of Avery Bradley, Rondo could’ve had a significant role. If everything goes well for his recovery, he could come back for the title run but it remains to be seen how much of an impact he’ll be able to make.
Rondo Leaving the Bubble
Rondo has become a reliable leader for the team but he won’t be able to stick around with the team. According to Bill Oram of The Athletic, the veteran guard has to leave Orlando to get surgery:
Rondo will leave the bubble for his surgery, a Lakers spokesperson confirmed, and whenever he re-enters, he will have to quarantine again. If his timeline is closer to eight weeks, he could go six months between games. It’s reasonable to wonder how effective any player could be dropped into postseason action with those circumstances after that kind of layoff.
Considering he’s already been off for months, Rondo’s probably going to have a hard time finding a role with the team upon his return. The Lakers will need to rely on others for a while, but they’re still holding out hope for Rondo to make an impact.
“We expect Rajon to be a part of our playoff run,” head coach Frank Vogel told the media on Monday. “We’re looking at six to eight weeks puts us somewhere around the 1st to the 2nd round of the playoffs. We’re very confident he will be able to get back & be a major factor for us.”
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Who Will Replace Rondo & Bradley?
The losses of Rondo and Bradley are blows to the Lakers’ depth. That said, they do have some other solid options available to them. As of now, it seems like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will get the starting nod at first.
“Kentavious did a phenomenal job when Avery was injured earlier in the season,” Vogel said Monday. “That’s really where I’m at in terms of what the starting lineup will look like.”
There’s also a chance that Alex Caruso gets a shot to start as he’s played very well with LeBron James. Dion Waiters or JR Smith could also impress but they’ve both been out for so long. The Lakers played well with Caldwell-Pope as the starter this season. He should keep the job unless the team really starts to struggle.
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