This summer Rajon Rondo will be an unrestricted free agent, and we might be talking about his game last night as the possible impetus to sign elsewhere this summer. With 8:10 to play in the third quarter last night, Rick Carlisle tried calling a play from the sideline. The former Celtics All-Star ignored him and Carlisle was forced to call a timeout. An on-court cursing match ensued, and Rondo didn’t return for the final 20 minutes of the game.
After the spate, the Mavs actually rallied to defeat the Raptors, 99-92, behind the play of backup guards J.J. Barea and Devin Harris. Here’s what transpired between Rondo and Carlisle, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas:
The stubborn coach and headstrong point guard exchanged a lot of expletives as they shouted at each other in a dispute stemming from Rondo’s desire to have more play-calling responsibilities.
“Well, it’s an emotional game and we had a difference of opinion,” Carlisle said. “There was an exchange, and then, in my mind, it was over.”
Carlisle glared at the reporter who kept asking him after the game whether Rondo’s absence the last 20 minutes of the game was for basketball reasons, or disciplinary ones:
But this isn’t the first time Carlisle has had issues with his point guard over play-calling. According to MacMahon, there was conflict with Jason Kidd during his first go-around with the Mavs before Carlisle yielded control mid-way through the year.
The strain between Carlisle and Rondo has been building before last night’s confrontation:
The tension between Rondo and Carlisle about play-calling had been brewing for a little while, team sources told ESPNDallas.com. It reached a boiling point when Rondo appeared to blow off a play call from the bench, prompting Carlisle to storm onto the court while calling a timeout and shouting at Rondo, who responded in kind.
Dirk Nowitzki didn’t think it was a big deal, and even alluded to an altercation between Carlisle and Jason Terry right before they went on a title run in 2011:
“Sometimes little dust-ups can even bring you together,” Nowitzki said. “I remember Coach had a dust-up with [Jason Terry] right before the playoffs in 2011, and that probably was the best thing that happened to us because Jet was on his best behavior throughout the whole playoffs. Sometimes stuff like that can bring both sides closer together.”
Rondo’s poor play on the offensive end — he’s improved Dallas defensively — can’t be forgotten either:
NBA's Bottom Four in Points Per Play this season? Rondo (0.65), Lance (0.68), Perk (0.68) and MCW (0.71)
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 23, 2015
Rajon’s inability to connect from beyond the arc, or even in the mid-range, allows his defender to go behind Dirk on the high screen Dallas likes to run. Rondo’s defender can also pinch in when he’s on the weak side, cluttering what was often an evenly spaced half-court before the trade bringing Rondo to Dallas.
His defense was the primary reason Mark Cuban brough him to Dallas, and while they’ll get the “first word” in Rondo’s free agency this summer, other teams are in play for his services this summer.
(vídeos via watchnba201415 and Ben Rogers)
