Lakers News: Latest on Rajon Rondo Injury, Kyle Kuzma's Preparation for Restart

The Los Angeles Lakers' will have to do some retooling while in the bubble. The team found out on Sunday that Rajon Rondo had suffered a fractured right thumb that will require surgery, keeping him out for six to eight weeks, per ESPN's Dave McMenamin.

With Avery Bradley opting not to join the team in Orlando for the restart, the Lakers are now missing two of their top guards. Bradley and Rondo combined to give the Lakers about 44 minutes of solid guard play every night, with Bradley knocking down threes and playing defense, and Rondo serving as a primary ballhandler and facilitatory (5.0 assists per game).

The Lakers were able to replace Bradley on the roster with veteran JR Smith, but the team will not be allowed to sign a substitute for Rondo.

On Monday, Lakers head coach Frank Vogel provided a few updates on what Rondo's injury means for the team. The most encouraging aspect was that Vogel believes Rondo will be ready to help the team during the postseason, per USA Today's Mark Medina:

Getting Rondo back at a late stage would be a huge boost for the team in terms of lightening the load in the backcourt and getting veteran leadership on the floor. In the meantime, the Lakers will have to forge ahead without the 34-year-old point guard.

Vogel says that likely means more playing time for veteran guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who is averaging 9.1 points and 1.7 assists per game this season.

"Kentavious Caldwell-Pope did a phenomenal job early when Avery was injured in the season," Vogel said, per McMenamin. "That's really where I'm at in terms of what the starting lineup is going to look like, with him being in that slot. But obviously, we'll see how things go throughout practice, and other guys will have opportunities."

Other guards who will get more looks from the coaching staff include Danny Green, Alex Caruso, Dion Waiters and Smith. They will all be counted upon to provide a scoring boost, whether it's as a starter or coming off the bench.

As for bringing the ball up the floor, Vogel is now looking at letting a couple of his big men lead the way with Rondo out, per Lakers Nation:

The Lakers have already had plenty of success letting LeBron James set up the offense as a point forward of sorts. Putting the ball in hands of Kyle Kuzma and Anthony Davis earlier in possessions means the guards in their orbit will be asked to get open with incisive cuts (hello, Caruso) and knock down long-range shots.

While Davis is pretty much guaranteed to have a big impact on games and can be trusted to do just about anything on a basketball court, Kuzma is going to be a player to watch in the bubble. He's the young Laker who was coveted enough to keep his purple and gold jersey when the team was lining up the blockbuster trade to get Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans.

His averages are down this year (12.5 points per game, 4.5 rebounds per game, 29.7 percent from three), while the likes of Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball have blossomed with the Pelicans. That appears to be just fine with Kuzma, who is focused on the bigger picture. 

"Guys can go across this league average 20, 25 [points] and just never win. I don't want that. I want a legacy. And to do something that as a kid I've always wanted to do," said Kuzma, per the Los Angeles Times' Tania Ganguli.

Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

Kuzma has kept his focus for this journey in Orlando, telling Ganguli that he has been "reading, meditating, and painting a lot" in order to get his mind relaxed and ready for a playoff run. Kuzma's ability to keep calm and remain focused on the court will be crucial if the team does hand him greater ballhandling responsibilities. Jared Dudley's comments about mentoring the 24-year-old forward take on even greater significance now that we know more about Kuzma's potential role in the bubble. 

"We want him to reach his potential," Dudley said on July 9, per Ganguli. "During that we can't have wasted possessions of what we're trying to accomplish here, especially when you have LeBron [James] and AD on the floor. We can't waste too many possessions."

Kuzma is going to have to prove he can not only set up the offense but create his own shot while not turning the ball over. According to Basketball-Reference.com, Kuzma's averaging 3.0 turnovers per 100 possessions, a slightly higher rate than his first two years in the league. If he can keep those numbers down and find the stroke on his three-point jumper again, the Lakers will weather Rondo's absence just fine.