‘Playoff Rondo’ remains key factor for Pelicans

Rajon Rondo is healthy, and he’s locked in.

That’s good news for the Pelicans, not so much for the Trail Blazers. When Rondo is locked in during the postseason, the 6-foot-4 guard who won an NBA title with the Celtics has shown he can be a tough out.

Over the course of his career, Rondo has averaged 10.5 points, 8.5 assists and 4.8 rebounds. In the playoffs, he has averaged 14.3 points, 9.2 assists and six rebounds per game.

Not that he is buying into the Playoff Rondo hype, however.

“There’s a lot of factors into that. I don’t think you can break it down as simple as one or two things,” Rondo said after practice Monday. “It’s a matter of me being healthy, minutes, my teammates trusting me, my coaching staff trusting me.

“I think we, as a we’re playing pretty under pressure.”

Rondo dished out 17 assists in Game 1, helping the Pelicans take a 1-0 series lead.

“You know, he’s one of the smartest players in the league,” Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. team, good

Mitchell’s status: Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell has a left foot bruise, and his status is uncertain for Game 2 against the Thunder.

Mitchell left the Jazz’s 116-108 loss in Game 1 Sunday after stubbing his toe in the third quarter, and he played sporadically the rest of the way. A team spokesman said Mitchell had an MRI on Monday, and the team will provide an update Tuesday. When asked if he was concerned about missing Game 2 on Wednesday, Mitchell said, “Not at all.”

AP