The first injury of the resumed season has occured for the Los Angeles Lakers. According to multiple reports, point guard Rajon Rondo will be out six to eight weeks with a fractured thumb. Dave McMenamin and Malika Andrews of ESPN were first to the report while Shams Charania of The Athletic first reported the timetable.
Rondo has had multiple hand injuries since joining the Lakers. The 34-year-old missed 15 games to injury this season before this latest setback.
A six-week timetable would see Rondo return in time for the second round of the playoffs while an eight-week timetable could see him return for the conference finals. Of course, following surgery and recovery, Rondo will likely have to enter a quarantine if he does return to the bubble before being allowed to play.
While Rondo has struggled on the court since joining LA (averaging 7.1 points and five assists per game), the point guard’s veteran and championship experience have been described as invaluable to the squad. Moreover, with starting point guard Avery Bradley opting to sit out of the restart, the Lakers’ depth at that position takes another hit.
The majority of point guard minutes will go to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Alex Caruso but the team has also recently signed both Dion Waiters and J.R. Smith to shore up their guard depth although neither have played for the team since signing.
We wish Rondo a speedy and full recovery and hope to see him back in the postseason to contribute to a championship.
