LA’s missing piece?
Clippers have a crucial leadership piece in Rajon Rondo.
The answer revealed plenty about how the Los Angeles Clippers view their newest acquisition and how Rajon Rondo’s presence changes their team dynamic. It also may have offered some subtle clues about what the Clippers lacked last season as a playoff underachiever.
When the Clippers acquired Rondo before last week’s trade deadline from the Atlanta Hawks for Lou Williams, the reasons went beyond Rondo’s on-court savviness with his play-making. With 1 1⁄2 months left before the playoffs start, the Clippers also wanted a proven player who had the credibility to give unfiltered feedback both to the team’s stars and role players after winning two NBA championship with the league’s most respected franchises in the Boston Celtics (2008) and Los Angeles Lakers (2020). As Clippers forward Marcus Morris Sr. said, “He’s going to be big factor in us trying to hang that banner.”
“We’re going to listen to him. I look at him as a leader of this group,” Paul George said after the Clippers’ 104-86 win over the Lakers on April 4. “He holds a lot of weight in the locker room. As he gets more comfortable in the system and getting games under his feet, he’ll hold us accountable. That’s what you need in the locker room – somebody that’s going to say what needs to be said.”
The Clippers sorely needed things to be said last season as they showed inconsistent chemistry due to numerous injuries and complacency. Or when they squandered a 3-1 series lead in the Western Conference semifinals to the Denver Nuggets. Upon reflecting on those unpleasant memories, did George feel LA lacked a locker room leader who could speak truth to power? The answer became obvious through George’s long pause and pivot.
“We just know it’s coming from a good place,” George said.
KATELYN MULCAHY/GETTY IMAGES time so they could remain fresh for the actual games.
The Clippers have not completely escaped those challenges this season. They have missed a combined 79 games due to injuries, fielded 17 different starting lineups and are currently without Patrick Beverley and Serge Ibaka. All NBA teams have faced limited practice time because of the league’s health and safety protocols regarding the coronavirus pandemic. Going into the week, the Clippers (33-18) had the Western Conference’s third-best record after playing with either brilliance or maddening inconsistency.
But with Rondo on his way to a Hall of Fame induction partly because of his basketball smarts, he won’t need as much of that time to become familiar with the team’s playbook.
“It was difficult at times last year, especially without the practice time that we didn’t have, to run a play down the stretch where you didn’t already have the ball in PG or Kawhi’s hands. Now, you don’t have to do that,” Rivers said. “You can actually run a set where Rondo can deliver a ball. I think as important as that’s going to be, I think his voice is going to be more important. I think he’s going to be one of those guys who will speak up and will speak the truth and hold everybody accountable.”
No one but the Clippers truly know their success or failure with holding everyone accountable. But from afar, there appeared to be various factors in play that suggested it needed improvement.
Leonard and George did not have as much command as they would have liked mostly because of their injuries. Though Leonard was mostly reliable with his play and work ethic when healthy, he prefers to lead more with his own play than with changing how others play. Fault George all you want for his playoff struggles, but also show some empathy for the mental health challenges he admittedly struggled with in the bubble. Throw all the punchlines you want at Williams for getting caught at an Atlanta strip club on his way back to the bubble, but he still helped the Clippers with consistent scoring and empowering those around them.
Even if the Clippers did not have toxic personalities, they lacked someone who could have become an effective crisis manager. Rondo fulfilled that last season with the Lakers. Even with limited production during the regular season and an injured right thumb that sidelined him for the Lakers’ eight seeding games and the first round of the playoffs, Rondo played a significant factor in the Lakers winning the NBA title. Credit Rondo for helping LeBron James with play-making responsibilities, motivating Anthony Davis to increase his dominance and offering consistent production in points (8.9), assists (6.6) and steals (1.4) along the way.
“He’s one of the smartest players I’ve ever coached,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. “He’s got a great lens on what’s happening with our group and has a great BS meter. He’ll call it out with guys to make sure guys are going about their business the right way, whether it’s on the court, off the court or whatever. So he’s a champion for a reason, and he should help the Clippers.”
One of the reasons Rondo should help the Clippers? He remains self-aware of how to handle his new role. After making his Clippers’ debut in the win over the Lakers, Rondo declined to act like the team’s savior.
“Just go out there and try to lead by example,” he said. “I don’t like to talk as much without showing it out there on the court as my teammates.”