Rajon Rondo already assisting Pelicans in more than one way

The New Orleans Pelicans have only had Rajon Rondo back for two games. Despite the short sample size, it looks pretty clear that they’re a better team when he’s on the floor. However, it’s not just his passing that’s going to make a difference.

The guard play of the New Orleans Pelicans hasn’t been great this year. Recently, Jrue Holiday and E’Twaun Moore have been on a tear. Other than that though, there hasn’t been much for anyone to write home about. Due to that, offseason acquisition Rajon Rondo couldn’t return soon enough.

Rondo’s tough to define as a player.

Some feel he’s lost a step, or wasn’t ever that good to begin with. There are talks that he’s selfish, can’t score, and weak on defense; he hurts teams.

On the other hand though, some feel he’s still got it. He works to get open looks for his teammates, plays strong defense and isn’t the distraction he’s been painted as.

No matter what you think of the point guard, there’s no denying the Pelicans could use some help. Through a short 19 minute sampling over two games, Rondo’s showing he could calm the storm.

In his first game back, Rondo played just five minutes. That’s hardly enough time to measure the impact he had on the game. To go with that, the point guard had a neutral (0) plus/minus.

While he picked up one foul and one turnover, Rondo also went 1-for-1 from the field (two points), and recorded two assists.

Then came Wednesday.

The 31-year-old saw a significant boost in minutes, getting 14 on the night. This time, that was more than enough for him to leave a mark on the game.

In that short amount of time, the point guard scored four points (2-for-4), while picking up eight assists, two rebounds, and one steal. Again, he had one foul and one turnover. This all led to a +9 plus/minus.

Obviously, the stat that catches your eye is assists. Rondo already has 10 on the year in just 19 minutes.

Those eight he had on Wednesday are tied for the third-highest total in a game by a Pelicans player all year.

That’s something that’s been missing. Jrue Holiday can spread it around, but he’s better at creating shots for himself. Jameer Nelson‘s a solid distributor as well, he’s never going to go bonkers in that stat though. Then there’s DeMarcus Cousins, or ‘Point Boogie’ if you will. While he can dish the rock, when he tries to do too much, it tends to lead to a ton of turnovers.

With Rondo back, the Pelicans finally have a true point guard.

Distributing is not all Rajon Rondo will do however. That’s been evident throughout his entire career. He isn’t much of a scorer, but he can get points if necessary. He’s also a strong rebounder for a point guard, and a solid defender.

None of those are what the Pelicans are begging for though. What they really need is someone that can run an offense. Calm down the troops when the going gets tough, and pick up the pace when everything’s going right.

Pace has been a big problem for the Pelicans this year.

Remember when the Pelicans kept passing up wide open looks? Things were going well and they wanted to run the clock a little bit. So E’Twaun Moore passed up a wide open three, then another.

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Then DeMarcus Cousins did the same thing. Finally, he passed to a cutter, but Anthony Davis was called for a three-in-the-key. This wasn’t on Davis though, as he was parked in the paint for good reason. Any sane person would expect someone to shoot when they have that many open looks.

This led to Davis yelling at his teammates to shoot the ball (he threw in some expletives that I am not permitted to add in this piece).

When things are going bad, it’s the other way around. Players chuck up questionable shots, but even more often questionable passes. Quite often the Pelicans try to do too much sharing when they need a score.

Again, Davis was on the receiving end of a bad play by his teammates. Just this Saturday against the Los Angeles Clippers, the Pelicans found themselves in a slump. The Clippers were on a run, and Moore’s solution was to try and throw a near half-court alley-oop to Davis.

It sort of worked out, as Davis was fouled, however that is what many people would call a “bail-out.” The oop more-than-likely wouldn’t have been completed even if there was no foul.

David Weasley summed it up perfectly. It wasn’t the worst idea, and it was good to see Moore trying to spark his teammates. That wasn’t the time for it though, as it was far too risky at a time when the Pelicans just needed a simple bucket.

No matter what you think of him, it’s hard to deny that Rajon Rondo is a floor general. He knows how to command his team and control the game.

Don’t get me wrong, he’ll get Davis and Cousins more easy dunks. Meanwhile, Darius Miller will love those drive and kicks that Rondo has perfected.

Next: Pelicans Lose To Raptors 125-116

The Pelicans are in a good position with a finally-starting-to-get-healthy team. Rajon Rondo might push them to the next level.

Stay tuned Pelicans fans!