Rondo’s riveting revival looking familiar
Los Angeles Lakers guard Rajon Rondo, who had not played in a game since March because of the season’s postponement, a broken thumb and then back spasms, had morphed into an afterthought entering the Western Conference semifinals to most everyone but his own team.
By late Tuesday night, however, Rondo was at the forefront of the Rockets’ reflections following the Lakers’ 112-102 victory in Game 3, as he helped lift Los Angeles to two consecutive victories and a 2-1 series lead in the playoffs bubble in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
“I hated being away from my team, and what I missed most was competing,” Rondo said. “I’m able to do that now.”
The Rockets, for understandable reason zeroed in on Lakers stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, found out the hard way that Rondo was back in a big way. He came off the bench to score 21 points, including a dozen in the decisive fourth quarter, when for the second consecutive game the Lakers outscored the Rockets by 10 points over the final 12 minutes.
The Rockets, like everyone else in the NBA, figured James especially would get his usual large portions on a big stage, and he did with 36 points and four blocks (the latter all in the fourth quarter), both game highs. But Rondo’s all-around output was more of a surprise and key to the Lakers’ separation from the Rockets in the closing quarter.
Rondo, 34, is no stranger to postseason success, as he helped lead the Boston Celtics to an NBA title 12 years ago, and had since developed into a dynamic performer on the NBA’s postseason stage, including with the New Orleans Pelicans two years ago with Davis.
“When you miss as much time as he’s missed, you don’t know how quickly he’s going to get his legs under him,” Lakers first-year coach Frank Vogel said. “(But) you know what kind of gamer he is this time of year, and he’s been spectacular the last two games.”
Rondo, in his 15th season in the league, broke his thumb in the weeks leading to the NBA’s restart in July during the COVID-19 pandemic. The playmaker nicknamed “Playoff Rondo” then was scheduled to return during the Lakers’ opening series against the Portland Trail Blazers but was sidelined again, this time by back spasms.
“It was very frustrating, but in my (long) career you’re going to have those,” Rondo said. “Everything happens for a reason, and the man upstairs was talking to me. I had to be still for another moment.”
Rondo said it helped he was able to take part in video teleconferences with his coaches and teammates while he was working to return to the court.
“My teammates were texting me and wishing me well,” he said. “I was still part of the team. It was just a matter of me not being there (in the bubble) physically. I never felt like I was away from the team, and I was able to stay locked in with those guys throughout.”
James, 35, set an NBA record with 162 playoffs victories, leaping past longtime Lakers mainstay Derek Fisher (161), and passing San Antonio Spurs icon Tim Duncan (157) earlier this postseason against the Trail Blazers.
“It’s nothing I ever dreamed of,” a humble James said, adding that he simply wanted to be a part of a winning culture in the NBA.
The series continues Thursday night with Game 4 from the bubble, as the Rockets try and climb back into it. The last time these two teams met in the playoffs in 2009 in the conference semifinals, the Rockets also won the opener before the Lakers rebounded with two consecutive victories.
The Lakers eventually edged the Rockets 4-3 in the series, and behind the late Kobe Bryant won the franchise’s 15th of 16 NBA titles. Only the Celtics have more with 17.
The Lakers are trying to win their first NBA championship in a decade, while the Rockets are trying to win their first in a quarter century. While James realizes most eyes are on him as the postseason wears on, he was proud of a fellow 30-something’s showing Tuesday – a player who had become practically a postscript entering the Rockets series.
“These last two games he’s been everything we imagined (him) being in the postseason,” James said of Rondo. “From being in the playoffs and being on the opposing side of him for so many years, I knew what he was capable of.”