Lakers will work Rajon Rondo into starting point guard rotation

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Lakerswon't rely exclusively onLeBron James at point guard this season. Rajon Rondo is a strong option for the No. 1 spot, too.

"I've given it a lot of thought, and I think he'll be in the starting lineup a lot," Lakers coach Frank Vogel said after practice Thursday, referring to Rondo. "I definitely envision a lot of games where he'll be the starting point guard."

Just how much "a lot" means is still being figured out. Vogel told ESPN later Thursday that it could be as little as 10 games. The intention is to find matchups that make sense for Rondo as the starter that, in turn, will take some of the load off of James.

Rondo missed the Lakers' season-opening loss to theLA Clippers, sitting out with a sore calf, and the offense sputtered. The Lakers shot 43.5 percent from the floor and had 14 turnovers against 20 assists.

James started as the de facto point guard, flanked by two off-ball guards in Avery Bradley and Danny Green, along with Anthony Davis and JaVale McGee in the frontcourt.

Rondo, who said he first experienced discomfort in his calf the day before the Lakers' preseason finale in Golden State, went through Thursday's practice at "full speed" and "didn't look impaired at all," according to Vogel, but his availability for Friday's game against the Utah Jazz is to be determined.

"He looked really good," Vogel said. "He looked fresher than everybody else. A little bounce in his step, which is good. But, you know, it's not how he feels today, it's how he feels after today's workload. Right? So we'll see how he responds to what he's doing today and make that decision tomorrow."

Bradley impressed the coaching staff with his fit with the starting unit, sources told ESPN, in the Lakers' dominant 126-93 preseason win over the Warriors on Oct. 16, scoring 18 points on 7-for-9 shooting. With Rondo injured, the natural choice was to go back to that group for the opener, sources said.

James finished with 18 points on 7-for-19 shooting, 10 rebounds and 8 assists against the Clippers, but he shot just 1-for-4 in the fourth quarter and committed three of his six turnovers in the final frame.

James spent much of the night targeting Davis in the post -- something that worked for the offense, to be sure -- but became less effective as the game wore on.

"I think if there's one thing that stands out, is when they started bringing soft help in the post, we didn't respond to that well enough in terms of our spacing," Vogel said. "There's simple counters, and if they're going to sit in AD's lap, with the shooters that we have out there, we should be shooting open 3s, if we're spaced appropriately in those situations."

Rondo, entering his 13th season, averaged 9.2 points on 40.5% shooting (35.9% from 3) with 8.0 assists and 5.0 rebounds last season, his first with the Lakers. He said that a starting role isn't something he is pushing for, necessarily.

"My preference is what coach Vogel wants me to do," he said. "I'll be cool with that."

Vogel said there still could be games where Rondo comes off the bench and Bradley starts, depending on matchups.

Should Rondo start Friday, his matchup will be Utahpoint guard Mike Conley, who is coming off a 1-for-16 shooting night in the Jazz season opener. "It's the worst thing that could've happened," James said, referring to Conley's motivation level heading into the Lakers game.

Rondo, a career 31.5 percent shooter from 3, all but admitted he isn't the typical guard that's been paired with James in his career, but he said he feels like he can ignite James in fast-break situations and also keep the offense flowing.

"The league is big on analytics now, so I don't know what the statistics are when LeBron and I are on the court at the same time, but that's last year's stats," Rondo said. "This year is obviously a different team, different feel. So we'll see how it goes. You can't predetermine anything. You got to see how the game flows and go from there."

Has he improved his 3-points shooting in the offseason?

"I'm always going to play my game," Rondo said. "I think me at point is a pretty good [option]. I've been pretty good in my career with me at point, as well. So, like I said, it's all about sacrifice and figuring out what's best for our team."