The other thing that Ray + bench lineup gives you is it forces Kobe to play Ray, which means no resting on D, or sagging into the paint as he typically does with Rondo. With Kobe racking up minutes, making him work on D is crucial. He still hit some remarkable shots, but he was clearly gassed at the end. I'm not advocating playing Rondo less, but it's just another interesting wrinkle with the matchups. The Lakers don't have another good guard defender, so they have tough choices to make when they're deciding who to put Kobe on.
