Report: Los Angeles Lakers dealt another blow with Rajon Rondo injury

The Los Angeles Lakers’ backcourt depth has been dealt another blow with the news that Rajon Rondo will miss time with a hand injury.

It turns out that it’s a good thing the Los Angeles Lakers signed Dion Waiters before the NBA season was suspended and J.R. Smith when the league’s transaction window opened in June. With Avery Bradley opting to sit out of the Orlando-based restart in order to be with his family, backcourt depth was already a bit light, but more bad news struck late Sunday night.

Per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, Rajon Rondo fractured his right thumb in practice and will require surgery. He will miss six-to-eight weeks, and depending on coronavirus quarantine protocols when he returns, possibly more.

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Rondo has had a decent season with the Lakers, coming off the bench behind Avery Bradley. He’s averaged 7.1 points, 5.0 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game with fairly typical Rondo-esque shooting splits of .418/.328/.659.

With Bradley and Rondo both out, Alex Caruso and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are elevated into the spotlight and more will be asked from them than ever before in their Lakers’ tenure. For that matter, J.R. Smith and Dion Waiters won’t spend nearly as much time warming the bench as we expected. Down two guards, Smith and Waiters immediately become important depth pieces rather than mere insurance.

That eight-week window will take us well beyond the end of the seeding round, the eight-game regular season portion of the campaign where 22 teams will fight it out to earn and maintain postseason bids. Assuming he’s back in mid-September, the Los Angeles Lakers should expect to find themselves in the Western Conference Finals when he makes his return.

Of course, the Lakers have to get there first and nothing is a given in the tough West. Rajon Rondo won’t make or break you in a playoff series (most likely), but the rotation will feel the strain until he’s back.