LOS ANGELES: Paul George was quick to see what Rajon Rondo can do for the LA Clippers.
Rondo made his Clippers debut Sunday, playing 13 minutes off the bench in a 104-86 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers nurses at the Staples Center.
Although Rondo only had two points, three rebounds and four losses in play while playing with a restriction of minutes after returning from an adductor injury, George can see all the intangibles Rondo carries.
George said Rondo’s impact as a game creator can help him and Kawhi Leonard in the way Russell Westbrook helped George when the two were in Oklahoma City.
“I think we can set aside more energy,” George said of how he and Leonard can benefit from Rondo. “I relate it to the relationship I have with Russ. Russ created a lot of closing situations for me. And it will be the same with Rondo. Rondo can get to the middle of painting, he can do plays. And he will often create situations for us. closing “.
George said Rondo, who won a championship with the Boston Celtics in 2008 and the Lakers last season, instantly becomes one of the respected leaders in the Clippers locker room.
“Rondo is a leader, you know the leader, he’s a leader,” George said. “We will listen to him. I look at him as a leader, a leader of this group. He will have a lot of weight. He has a lot of weight in the locker room. As he feels more comfortable inside our system, getting games under his feet , will hold us accountable. That’s what you need in the locker room, someone who says what needs to be said and takes us forward. “
The Clippers traded Lou Williams for Rondo in hopes of improving his leadership, IQ and basketball chemistry and orchestrating the offense, all areas they lacked last postseason.
Rondo came off the bench on Sunday and billed on his first play, but got a steal three seconds later and handed out his first assist finding Nic Batum by a 3 at the end of the first quarter.
Clippers coach Ty Lue said Rondo looked rusty as expected as he played in his first game since March 22, when the Atlanta Hawks played the Clippers.
Rondo said he has split his time on the court trying to learn the Clippers playbook and in the training room recovering from his adductor injury. Lue said Rondo has worked the locker rooms to try to figure out where his teammates want the ball, including talking to Leonard and George about how to make things easier for them.
He was asked if he had identified which areas the Clippers need to improve on to win a championship.
“I can’t dissect it so quickly,” Rondo said. “Viouslybviament, I want to be close and continue to learn my teammates, learn what the coach asks of us as players. I can’t say exactly, specify something that needs to be done here. I want to come here, help – to form the maximum possible team, to lead in all possible ways and, obviously, we have a common goal “.
Lue said he could see that Rondo is already improving the Clippers pace and believes he will help them get offensive sets faster and make Leonard and George easier to score.
“It will be a key piece to our career,” said Marcus Morris Sr., who won 22 points. “It will help us tremendously. It will help our superstars by getting easier shots and getting them in their places and even defensively just knowing where to be.”
“He played with my brother [Markieff Morris] last year, and my brother had nothing but to say good things about him as a teammate. So we are thrilled to get it and I think it will really be an important factor in us trying to hang this banner. ”