Lakers desire to win 219-20 NBA Championship dealt with another blow, Their second unit point guard and 14 year NBA veteran fractured his right thumb during Lakers practice in Orlando on Sunday.
As per Shams Charania , NBA insider for The Athletic. Lakers guard will undergo surgery this week and is expected to miss six to eight weeks, means he could return anywhere between Aug. 25 and Sept. 8.
That means he could be back during the conference semifinals, which begin Aug. 31 or The conference finals begin September 15.
Rondo suffered the injury in the team’s second practice after arriving in the NBA bubble on Thursday for the resumed NBA season at Walt Disney World,Orlando.
Rondo was averaging 7.1 points, three rebounds and five assists in 20.5 minutes a game this season for the Lakers before the season was suspended on March 11 because of COVID-19 pandemic.
The Lakers, who are on top of the Western Conference with a record of 49-14, will be without Avery Bradley for rest of the season , who decided to opt out of Orlando tournament due to personal reasons related to covid-19.
Lakers GM Rob Pelinka did a good job by adding guards Dion Waiters and JR Smith, who can play a huge role for Lakers in the absence of Bradley and Rondo.
Rondo, a 14-season veteran, is a four-time All-Star and won a championship with the Boston Celtics in 2008, by defeating Kobe led Lakers.
Rondo known for elevating his game during play-offs(known as play-off Rondo), Lakers will be missing his leadership and Basketball IQ.It will be interesting to see how coach Frank Vogel will make adjustments to his rotation after missing out two key players for Orlando re-start.
