‘That’s Not Basketball’- Lakers’ Dennis Schroder Calls Out Veteran Rajon Rondo for Their Recent Altercation

The Lakers welcomed a familiar face in Rajon Rondo as they hosted the Atlanta Hawks in their recent game. Unfortunately, the champions couldn’t maintain their four game winning streak as the Hawks beat them 99-94.

Although LeBron James’ ankle injury was the biggest talking point of the matchup, the game also saw a host of other controversies as well. One of them involved Rajon Rondo and Dennis Schroder.

In the third quarter of the game, when Schroder was defending the veteran, the referee called a foul on the German. Rondo was quite frustrated with the Schroder’s antics and intentionally hit his face with the match ball, ending up with a technical foul.

Dennis Schroder comments on Rondo foul

Dennis Schroder, in the post game press conference, commented on the veteran guard’s foul. The German, who was understandably infuriated, said, “I mean, I love competitors you know, I love competitors who really tried to you know compete against me, uh, on the court, but that’s not competing no more.

“I will leave it at that you know, um, it’s fine, but that’s not competing, you know? I’m gonna leave it at that and we just keep it going. I ain’t trying to be rude but that’s not, um, that’s not basketball.”

Rajon Rondo is certainly not the biggest fan of Schroder. Back in 2019, when the OKC Thunder played against the Lakers, the veteran guard hit the German in the groin area and was ejected from the game and was even fined $35000 for the same.

Given how important the veteran guard was for last year’s finals run for the Lakers, this certainly taints his image in the eyes of Lakers’ fans.

Can Dennis Schroder lead the Lakers without LeBron James and Anthony Davis?

Schroder is certainly one of the most under-appreciated players in the NBA. The German has impeccable passing skills and has a loaded arsenal for scoring as well.

This season, he has adjusted to playing alongside a ball-dominant forward in LeBron James and showed versatility of playing off the ball. But with the latest injury to Bron, the German now has the liberty to be the primary ball handler and can let loose in the scoring end as well.

ALSO READ: Is the Lakers’ Season Over After LeBron James’ & Anthony Davis’ Injuries?

With Anthony Davis and LeBron out of the picture, expect the 27-year-old to take control of the Lake show. Apart from him, forward Kyle Kuzma will also play a key role in keeping the champions competitive.

The Lakers’ depth will be put to test at least for a week or two. If the team can pull off some victories in this time period, they can cement themselves as a must in the finals once Davis and LeBron are back with the team.