LeBron James Says Rajon Rondo Is 'A Key For Our Team'

James said that Rondo's impact on the Lakers goes far beyond his stat-line.

In Rajon Rondo's second game after missing nearly eight weeks because of a fractured right thumb, he made a big impact. 

Rondo had 10 points, nine assists and five steals in the Lakers' 117-109 win over the Houston Rockets on Sunday in Game 2 of their second-round playoff series. 

He finished with the highest plus-minus (28) of any player on the court.

"He was just extremely aggressive, not only offensively, but defensively, taking the challenge on James [Harden], taking the challenge on whoever he was guarding," LeBron James said Sunday. "Just trying to lead. I mean, that’s what ‘Do is. He’s a leader. And for us to have him back in the postseason, it’s a key for our team."

James has long said that Rondo is one of the smartest players in the league. And on Sunday, he showed how he affects the game in so many different ways.  

"He comes in, he pushes the tempo, he gets guys involved and that doesn’t always show up in the stat sheet with ‘Do, the intangibles that he does both offensively and defensively," James said. "His nose is always around the ball and he just makes plays for us and [Sunday] was another example of that."

Rondo played much better Sunday than in Friday's Game 1, when he finished with eight points on three-for-nine shooting, four assists and four turnovers in 24 minutes in the Lakers' 112-97 loss. He had a plus-minus rating of -10. 

Lakers coach Frank Vogel acknowledged he played Rondo more in that game than he had anticipated because Alex Caruso got in early foul trouble. 

Vogel added that it was expected that Rondo would have to work through a few kinks after not having played in a game since March 10, the day before the season was suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

"Game 1 was his first game in six months or something like that, so you have to forgive a little bit of rust," Vogel said Sunday. "He has such an impact. His impact on our team is measured in swag and just the confidence that he brings to our group. And you saw that, he was a plus-28 [Sunday], took the assignment of guarding James, of guarding Russ [Westbrook] at certain times and really wreaked havoc defensively for us, both on the ball and helping us mix coverages and those types of things." 

After Game 1, Vogel acknowledged that it's tough to work in a player at this stage in the playoffs who hadn't played in so long. 

Rondo suffered a fractured right thumb in the team's second practice at Walt Disney World on July 12. He was going to return for Game 3 of the Lakers' first-round playoff series against the Portland Trail Blazers on Aug. 22, but then suffered back spasms. 

But Vogel maintained that getting through a few bumps with Rondo would pay off dividends later in the series. 

"Rajon is one of the smartest players in the league and obviously our guys’ IQ raises when he’s on the court, so he’s definitely going to help us this series," Vogel said Friday. 

It didn't take long for Rondo to prove Vogel right.  

He made a big difference Sunday. 

"Kept his turnovers low, had a lot of assists," Vogel said. "Just a great Rondo performance."