Rajon Rondo has questionable picks to come out of the West - "The LA Clippers or LA Lakers"
With tough competition left and right in the Western Conference, Rajon Rondo made an appearance on ESPN's "First Take" and picked his favorites, the LA Lakers and LA Clippers, to come out of the conference.
"Either the LA Clippers or LA Lakers," Rondo said. "I think they can get it done. Russ has a lot to prove."
Rondo's picks received an interesting reaction from ESPN's Stephen A. Smith as he questioned the chances of the LA Clippers making it out of the West without their All-Star forward Paul George. Rondo responded by saying that Russell Westbrook would remind the world of the kind of player he used to be back in his prime.
The LA Clippers (44-38) will be in a head-to-head matchup with the media favorite out in the Western Conference, the Phoenix Suns (45-37). The first-round series will see a matchup between former OKC Thunder teammates Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant. The matchup also presents stars such as Kawhi Leonard, Devin Booker and Chris Paul.
The LA Lakers (43-39) are in the play-in tournament against the Minnesota Timberwolves (42-40) to secure the seventh seed. The LA Lakers have LeBron James and Anthony Davis alongside D'Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, Dennis Schroder and Malik Beasley.
The Lakers should be able to handle their business against the Timberwolves as they will be without Rudy Gobert (suspended) along with Jaden McDaniels' (broken right hand) unavailability. But things can always get interesting in the NBA.
Once the seventh seed is secured, that team will be in a first-round matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies (51-31). It will be a tough matchup for either the Lakers or the Timberwolves as the Grizzlies have the third-ranked defense in the league at a 110.7 rating along with a dynamic offense with Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., Dillon Brooks and Desmond Bane.
For either the LA Lakers or the LA Clippers to make it out of the west, either one will have to go through one of the most challenging roads towards the finals as the Western Conference is stacked with elite competition from all participating teams in the playoffs.
Rajon Rondo's time with the LA Lakers and the LA Clippers
Rajon Rondo is considered to be one of the best point guards to have ever played in the NBA. He made his mark during his time with the Boston Celtics alongside Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. Rondo is also a two-time champion, four-time NBA All-Time Defensive Team and four-time All-Star.
After being with the Celtics, he moved around the league and played for different teams, including the LA Lakers and LA Clippers.
He played two seasons with the Lakers as a backup point guard and helped the team secure a championship in the 2019-20 NBA Finals against the Miami Heat.
Rondo later played two seasons for the LA Clippers but struggled to stay on the court due to constant injuries, wherein, he was only able to play in 18 games in each of those two seasons.