Rajon Rondo is expected to make his LA Clippers debut Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers according to coach Ty Lue.
The Clippers acquired Rondo of Atlanta in a trade that included Lou Williams in the trade deadline on March 25th.
Both teams have no key players. The Lakers are without LeBron James and Anthony Davis due to injury. And Lue didn’t believe point Patrick Beverley (knee) would be able to come back and join Rondo on the ground. Beverley has missed the last 11 games due to injury. Head coach Serge Ibaka has also been sidelined for the past ten games with a back injury.
Rondo won a championship last season with the Lakers and will now participate in the Los Angeles rivalry on the other side with the Clippers.
“It’s different,” Rondo said of playing recently in the Clippers rivalry in an interview with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols. “It’s a rivalry here in Los Angeles. But for the most part, I’ve received a lot of ‘welcome back.’ It’s different to be Los Angeles champion again.”
Rondo, hampered by an adductor injury, has been constantly working to learn the Clippers playbook while resting.
“Just plug it in, just watch what it takes,” Lue said of what she hopes to see from Rondo. “It’s easy to go from practice to practice, but then you have a game on the go, it’s a little different. And I know how smart it is. Just seeing what it takes and seeing what we can incorporate while in the game and just try to get out of there. It’ll be nice to see him get on the ground. “