NBA Playoffs: How Playing ‘Playoff Rondo’ Helps LeBron James

LeBron James is 35 years old. Rajon Rondo is 34 years old. Boys his age often don’t propel teams to victory in the NBA playoffs, and certainly not consistently. But in the Western Conference Semifinals against the Houston Rockets, that’s exactly what James and Rondo have done the past two games to help Los Angeles regain a 2-1 series lead after losing the first game. of the second round.

The fact that James and Rondo are doing it now, as teammates in their respective ages after so many playoff matchups between them a decade ago, makes success even sweeter for the pair.

“We don’t know how many chances we’re going to get at this level,” James told reporters on Zoom after Game 3. “Our league tries to eliminate guys like us in our last few years out of the league. You see that a lot. The guys from 30 to 30 year olds try to get away from vets, so we pride ourselves (on continuing to play). “

The ridiculousness of James, possibly the greatest player of all time, saying that the NBA is trying to sideline guys like him, his most important point is clear. While James may be an exception and an outlier in every sense of the word, he is not wrong that the NBA has turned away from veterans like Rondo.

Organizations are constantly looking for the next diamond in the rough to develop at the bottom of their roster, the next unannounced second-round player or an undrafted youngster who can become a rotation player, or something else. Rondo may be a known amount, but, as the Lakers fully saw in the regular season, he’s not always good at this stage in his career. Whether it was because he wanted to save his legs and his energy to do what he’s doing now is up for debate, but some executives understandably want to try a younger prospect who could buy them job security if they are successful.

The Lakers walked away from that strategy last offseason. They have some young players (Kyle Kuzma and Alex Caruso, especially) and Anthony Davis is still 27 years old, but the Lakers were the third oldest team in the league this season, with veteran collaborators up and down the list. At first glance, that would seem to leave them with less room for an unexpected upside, but in the playoffs, we’re seeing that the opposite may be true.

Guys like Rondo won’t become contributors for a long time. He probably won’t even be in the league for many more years. But they might also be better able to level up in the postseason than a younger player because of their experience and poise, something James seems to firmly believe.

“You have people you can trust to be in a trench with you, not just from the basketball aspect, but from the cerebral aspect. The postseason is about making adjustments from game to game, and also being able to make adjustments on the fly, because things happen in real time, ”James said. “It’s easy to be like a quarterback on Monday mornings. It’s easy to watch the movie on Monday after playing Sunday and to be able to see the defender playing on top and say ‘I shouldn’t have passed it there.’

“But being able to make adjustments on the fly and see how the defense is playing, and seeing how the flow of the game plays out, there aren’t a lot of guys in our league who can do that,” James continued. “In the postseason it’s gigantic. Having ‘Do on our side definitely helps. “

Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice / Getty Images

And as much as taking the ball from James, one of the best playmakers in league history, if not the best, while Rondo is on the court it can sometimes seem counterintuitive (and it often was during the regular season). In the playoffs, there are semi-intangible benefits to doing so.

“It frees LeBron and AD from having to do too much,” Lakers head coach Frank Vogel said. “(Rondo) has the ability to orchestrate a game like very few players I’ve ever been with, and everyone else feeds off his energy. But not only with basketball. What he’s doing defensively at times, picking up Harden, being a true communicator on the defensive end and getting us involved, it was a great two-way performance on his part. “

Taking his game to the next level and helping save James’ legs as he has done might not be possible if Rondo is not as comfortable in these situations, and even if he cannot maintain the best level of play of his career in the postseason, no. , seriously, this is statistically as the best ever – He has already exceeded his veteran’s minimum contract in what he has helped in this series. And barring some catastrophe down the road, it has made James and the Lakers seem fit to value veterans so highly last offseason.

“Some people are cut out for this moment and some are not, and I think when you’ve been in your process and you’ve been building your mind, body and soul for the postseason, no matter the circumstances, no matter the environment, then you can go up. James said. “That does not always mean that you are going to play well, it does not always mean that you are going to win.

“But at the end of the day it’s just the pride factor in understanding that our league has tried to turn away from the veterans,” James continued. “You don’t have many opportunities to be part of a great team, to be part of great teammates. You don’t know what will happen year after year, so try to make the most of it. “

James and Rondo have certainly done it so far. If they continue, they could change the way the NBA community views the value of veteran players.

For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast at iTunes, Spotify, Stapler or Google Podcasts. You can follow Harrison on Twitter at @hmfaigen.