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Rajon Rondo may only start 10 games, LeBron James will reportedly continue to play point guard as well

The Lakers probably aren’t going to make Rajon Rondo their primary point guard.

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Los Angeles Lakers v Golden State Warriors Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images

A lot has been made of Lakers Head Coach Frank Vogel’s comments about Rajon Rondo potentially starting “a lot” of games for Los Angeles this season, and for good reason.

While the 9.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and eight assists suggest that Rondo is the same player he was just a few years ago, the advanced numbers tell a different story. Last season, Rondo posted a team-worst defensive rating of 113.3 and a net rating of -8.6 in 45 appearances for the Lakers, including 29 starts. Then, through three games in the preseason this year, Rondo posted a -0.8 net rating.

The fact of the matter is that Rondo isn’t a starting point guard in the NBA anymore, and hasn’t been for a while now. Luckily for the Lakers, it doesn’t sound like Rondo is going to start too many games, despite Vogel’s comments after practice on Thursday.

According to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, Rondo will start some games for the Lakers, but Vogel’s use of “a lot” may have been inaccurate:

In Vogel’s defense, he did say that the starting point guard rotation would be dependent on matchups and the flow of the game, so it makes sense that Rondo wouldn’t start every game. That still begs the question, though: When is it going to be advantageous for the Lakers to start Rondo as opposed to their other options at point guard?

Yes, Rondo has the most history with both LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but the little that he gives the Lakers offensively doesn’t make up for his shortcomings on defense, or at least they haven’t so far. Perhaps that could change as the season goes on, but nothing Rondo has done recently merits him getting playing time over players like Avery Bradley and Alex Caruso, who are bother better fits with James.

Will there be nights where Rondo will be able to help get the Lakere’ offense going when it’s stagnant? Probably. Should he start or finish games? As long as LeBron James is the team’s primary ball-handler, no.

For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts. You can follow this author on Twitter at @RadRivas.

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