Rounding Out Sacramento’s Big Three
By Zack Zolmer
Apr 18, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Rajon Rondo (9) takes the ball to the basket during the third quarter against the Houston Rockets in game one of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Rajon Rondo?
The Kings’ biggest free agency splash was also its riskiest. The contract itself (one year, $10 million) won’t shackle Sacramento, but concerns over Rajon Rondo’s fit on this team are legitimate.
Last season as a Celtic and then a Maverick, here’s Rondo’s shot chart, in which the shading of each zone is measured against the NBA average in that zone:
Rajon Rondo’s 2014-15 NBA Shot Chart, via Vorped.
Good from the corners, decent from the top of the key, below average everywhere else. In an offense that relies heavily (almost completely) on its players’ ability to shoot and space the floor, this is less than ideal.
To boot, Rondo has never played in every game of a full, 82-game NBA regular season. After missing only one regular season game as a 23-year-old on the 2009-10 Boston Celtics, Rondo’s regular season games played, in order, are as follows: 68, 53 (out of 66 games due to the lockout), 38, 30, 68.
In other words, from the start of his age-24 season on, Rajon has suited up for just over 65 percent of the regular season games his teams have played. In the same time frame, DeMarcus Cousins has played in roughly 89 percent of Sacramento’s scheduled games, Oklahoma City point guard Russell Westbrook’s number is 87 percent, and Lakers two-guard Kobe Bryant has taken the court in approximately 66 percent of LA’s contests, per Basketball-Reference.
The question is, are Rondo’s recent performances an anomaly, or a new reality? Who’s to say. Mavericks owner Mark Cuban attributed the 29-year-old’s lackluster stay in Dallas to a poor basketball fit and little else, and that could be the case.
The challenge of integrating a new point guard into a pre-established offense mid-season is a vast one, especially considering the difference in philosophies between Rondo and the point guard who preceded him (Jameer Nelson, whose effectiveness — at this point in his career — relies less on having the ball in his hands than Rondo’s does).
George Karl and the coaching staff have a summer to formulate and fine-tune an offense around their new floor leader. Rick Carlisle had no such luxury. Karl and company have a full training camp with Rajon, to experiment with sets and play types and test which player combinations work and, conversely, which don’t. Carlisle did this during the middle of last season.
This season, Rajon Rondo should be Sacramento’s number three man. I mean, that’s the idea, anyway. Despite character concerns and vitriolic attacks on the point guard’s mentality and commitment, Vlade Divac and company saw in Rondo an inventive playmaker, cunning slasher and gifted passer. All are vital components to a dribble-drive offense—one they clearly feel Rajon is qualified to captain.
The Kings don’t need All-Star Rondo, just better point guard play, in general. Last season’s bench was an underachieving, underwhelming assortment of mismatched players, and you can circle the epicenter of that dysfunction around the backup point guard spot. Now, having the flexibility to elect Darren Collison — solid starter, elite backup — as your bench’s leader makes Sacramento that much more dynamic. After all, he’s pretty capable in his own right.
Next: The Real Star Of The Kings