According to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, the Lakers will keep Lonzo Ball in the starting lineup – where he has excelled during the suspension of Rajon Rondo – when Rondo returns from his three-game absence this evening against the Spurs.
The Lakers, who were 0-2 in Rondo’s starts to begin the season, went 2-1 in Rondo’s absence with Ball averaging 12.7 points on 53.6 percent shooting (40 percent from 3), 7.3 assists, 7.0 rebounds and 2.7 steals per game.
Meanwhile, Rondo, 32, averaged 13 points on 57.1 percent shooting (50 percent from 3), 10.5 assists, 5.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals in the Lakers’ first two games. So, it’s not like Rondo wasn’t playing well. But, evidently Luke Walton has liked what he’s seen from Ball and wants to continue with the momentum his team has going.
It’s unclear from McMenamin’s report whether this is a permanent move with an eye to the future, or just a temporary one subject to change based on how both players perform moving forward.
He totally earned it. Not just in his surprisingly great shooting, but in his incredible effort on defense. He was fantastic on D against the Suns and the Nuggets.
We all knew this was going to happen
I don’t like the idea of overreacting to a 5 game sample. It’s also kind of crappy to do that to a player you just signed. I wonder if they warned rondo he might be coming off the bench?
I’m sure it came up. If it were a multi year deal it’d make sense to worry about rondo but I’m sure he was aware a succeeding Ball is what the lakers want for the future and giving Zo opportunities is above Rondo.
Pretty sure it was an open competition from the start.
Ball is playing very well and flat out earned the right to start.