While the Los Angeles Lakers may very well envision Lonzo Ball playing a significant role moving forward, he appears poised to share plenty of time with veteran Rajon Rondo at least for this season.
Rondo has started at point guard in three of the Lakers’ four preseason games thus far, sitting one night for rest. Meanwhile, Ball has yet to take the court as he recovers from offseason knee surgery, but could potentially make his preseason debut Wednesday night in Las Vegas.
Much of the focus is on Ball playing alongside LeBron James, but there’s also the component of the young point guard coexisting and perhaps playing with Rondo. When told some view them as similar players, Rondo responded, “Oh really?” before praising Ball and highlighting where they are similar.
“He’s one of the best rebounding point guards in our game,” Rondo said. “I used to be, maybe, here and there. I’m not as athletic as he is. I’m not as tall as he is. I’m dark skinned, he’s light skinned. We’ve got a couple similarities.
“Defensively, I was all that defensively. Some teams pick on me still now but it’s because of my height probably. Other than that, he’s got a lot of potential. He can switch one through four, and like I said, his length is a big factor as well, so the sky is the limit for him defensively.”
With James out of the lineup Saturday against the Clippers, much of initiating the offense fell on Rondo’s shoulders. He notched 10 assists and didn’t take a shot until the second half in 27 minutes.
The Lakers were competitive through the first two quarters but became turnover prone and suffered a 103-87 loss. “We have our lulls throughout the game,” Rondo said of the team’s play.
“It’s a work in progress. Things are moving fast for us out there as a new team, but we’re doing OK for the most part.”
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