Cleveland Cavaliers maximize 'Playoff Rondo' with Darius Garland play-in pairing

Cavaliers guard Rajon Rondo had to pause and exhale when asked, "Who is Playoff Rondo?"

It’s a legitimate thing, Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff and five-time All-Star forward Kevin Love insist.

“There’s no doubt about it. The proof’s in the pudding,” Bickerstaff said Tuesday.

But two-time NBA champion Rondo, 36 and in his 16th season, had to stop and consider why his postseason averages are higher than his regular-season marks.

“I can’t really put it into words,” Rondo said Thursday. “I get a little more time to rest my body. I usually play a lot more minutes. The coaches usually allow me to do what I do best — manipulate the game and try to do what’s best for the team and stay on the same page with my teammates, along with getting W’s.”

With the Cavs down to their last chance to secure a spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs, Bickerstaff is trying to make the most of Rondo’s postseason magic.

In Tuesday’s 115-108 play-in tournament loss to the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center, Bickerstaff went with two All-Stars in the backcourt down the stretch, putting Darius Garland alongside his backup Rondo.

That strategy may be used again Friday with the Cavs’ season on the line against the Atlanta Hawks at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. The play-in winner secures the eighth seed in the East and advances to a seven-game series against the Miami Heat that opens Sunday.

Not surprisingly, Garland approved of the Rondo pairing.

“’Do, he just sees the game a couple of steps ahead,” Garland said after Tuesday's game. “We all just have to be on our toes, got to just expect different passes and different actions with 'Do. It was fun just playing with him a little bit, especially with K-Love in the game and the mismatches, [Rondo] always seeks the mismatches. It was a good couple runs with 'Do.”

After Thursday’s practice, Bickerstaff said he got what he wanted out of the Garland-Rondo combination.

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“You want 'Do on the floor for his experience, his intelligence on both sides of the ball,” Bickerstaff said. “But what it also does is it puts Darius in a position where people have to chase him. And every time he brings the ball up the floor, there's not 10 eyes on it. So now once he gets below the basket, and you can run him off the baseline, people have to shift their vision and try to follow him.

“And then that creates not only for him, because people will overreact, but now he can make plays for big guys as well.”

The plan would have been implemented sooner if Rondo had not missed 16 of 24 games after the All-Star break with right big toe and right ankle sprains.

Rondo explained what he liked about closing out the Nets game with Garland.

“Me just being out there with an exceptional scorer, an exceptional playmaker, a guy that can create his own shots,” Rondo said. “And also he’s even tougher I think to guard when he doesn’t have the ball and he’s moving without it. Defenses aren’t able to set up and load up against him. Just the combination of that, being out there with a high IQ guy, a guy that can make his own shots and create his own shots for me as well.”

Rondo has averaged 12.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 8.5 assists in 34 minutes of 134 career playoff games and has posted 79 victories, winning titles with the Boston Celtics in 2008 and the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020. In his 957 regular-season games, Rondo has averaged 9.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 7.9 assists in 29.9 minutes.

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Asked about Rondo’s postseason numbers, Bickerstaff said Tuesday, “He’s smarter than most people, and that’s a fact. Like, he’s a savant. And when you are that intelligent, you understand how to manipulate possessions, and that’s what this game comes down to in postseason play. It’s how can you make adjustments quick enough to impact what the opponent is trying to do. And because of his intelligence and his IQ, his passing ability, he has the ability to do those things.

“Defensively he knows how to get into spots where he can be disruptive because of that. It’s his brain, for sure, but he’s got the skills to go with it.”

Garland said he spent three days with Rondo before the Cavs faced the Nets, and that scenario likely hasn’t changed. Garland said they watched film and went over everything in the game-plan binder. They talked about how the Nets would defend Garland, center Evan Mobley, and even Garland and Love in the pick and roll.

“He really likes to seek out the matchup. If they have a weaker defender, put him in the pick and roll if they’re switching so I can have a lesser defender on me,” Garland said at shootaround Tuesday. “Just trying to manipulate the game. Always thinking a couple steps ahead.”

Garland, 22, is listening closely, but he was tuned in to Playoff Rondo long ago.

“I definitely saw Playoff 'Do in action,” Garland said. “I’ve seen Headband 'Do. That’s when 'Do used to have all the accessories. I remember all of that.”

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Rondo said the Cavs watched the Hawks’ 132-103 play-in victory over the Charlotte Hornets Wednesday as a team. Rondo surely offered insights, and those will continue throughout Friday’s game. He said the Cavs had 22 “game-plan mistakes” against the Nets that Brooklyn turned into 49 points.

“If we can cut that in half tomorrow night, I think we’ll be in pretty good shape,” Rondo said.

Rondo believes the Cavs have adjusted to a playoff atmosphere, which he said started March 24 at Toronto with a tiebreaker on the line.

“The last three weeks of the season we’ve been in a type of a playoff mindset, a playoff mode as far as expectations of having to win certain games. It’s just another one, but this is obviously win or go home,” Rondo said. “We’ve got our prep books. We’ve been in the gym about four hours now. We should be locked in and ready to go.”

The Hawks went 43-39 during the regular season, 16-25 on the road, and Rondo knows what kind of boost the home fans can give the Cavs.

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“They’re huge and the fans I’m sure will be a lot better than Brooklyn’s fans were for them,” Rondo said. “I’m just looking forward to feeding off that energy, feeding off the bench’s energy, and continuing to try to get a dub for these fans and this organization.”

Rondo knows the value the young Cavs would gain from a seven-game series and hopes they get that chance.

“We all want that,” he said. “We all want to extend the season and continue to grow as a team and make some noise.”

Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Cavs at www.beaconjournal.com/cavs. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Rajon Rondo being leaned on by Cavs in last-gasp playoff bid