I bet you didn’t have Rajon Rondo winning playoff games on your bingo card going into the Orlando bubble. Maybe you did have it marked. Los Angeles Lakers fans heard all season and last about the legend of “Playoff Rondo,” but up and down performances in the regular season gave them doubts. Since returning from injury, the veteran’s impact on the game has been a big reason that the Lakers have a chance at a championship.
Rondo posted 16 points and 10 assists in the Lakers game two win on Friday night against the Miami Heat. His distribution led to him moving to sixth all-time in playoff assists. Rondo passed some legends and spoke about the surreal feeling of the feat to the media via Silver Screen and Roll’s Harrison Faigen:
Rajon Rondo, on passing Larry Bird and Steve Nash in playoff assists tonight: pic.twitter.com/KNfzyyLzqg
— Finals Faigen (@hmfaigen) October 3, 2020
Rondo may not like being known for his post-season prowess, but his elevation at this time of the year is hard to ignore. Rondo’s shot 44.7 percent from 3-point range in the playoffs, up from his regular-season average of 32.8 percent.
Along with LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Danny Green, and Quinn Cook, he shares a wealth of NBA Finals experience. Rondo is a big mentor to newer guys getting their feet wet in the biggest games of their careers. That’s always been the rationale in bringing him to the franchise. The Lakers are two games away from proving that this was a sound decision all along.
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