When the Los Angeles Lakers signed Rajon Rondo, it was under the pretense he would receive an opportunity to compete with Lonzo Ball for the starting point guard role. The job wound up going to Rondo, in some part because Ball was slow to recover from knee surgery.
But the veteran point guard was suspended for his role in a fight with Chris Paul during the second game of the season. Rondo from the three-game ban as the backup to Ball. He then suffered separate hand injuries that cost him 31 of the next 34 games.
With Ball recovering from a sprained left ankle, Rondo started seven consecutive games upon returning from a second hand surgery.