Mavericks bench Rajon Rondo for series because of a ‘back injury’
By Mike Dyce
The Dallas Mavericks have ruled point guard Rajon Rondo out indefinitely because of a back injury.
The Dallas Mavericks and Rajon Rondo haven’t necessarily gotten along during their brief tenure together. Rondo and head coach Rick Carlisle have butted heads over playing time on more than one occasion, most notably last night.
The situation has gotten to the point that it is either a one or the other scenario, either the Mavericks keep Rondo and get a new head coach or the Mavericks say good by to Rondo.
For the rest of the playoff series against the Houston Rockets, the Mavericks won’t be with Rondo though. They’ve ruled him out indefinitely because of a back injury.
THIS JUST IN: Mavericks rule out Rajon Rondo indefinitely due to back injury. (via @ESPNSteinLine) pic.twitter.com/y7KXS1VwuJ
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 22, 2015
ESPN sources says Mavs are ruling out Rajon Rondo indefinitely after back injury he sustained in Game 2
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) April 22, 2015
So the obvious question here is whether or not he actually has a back injury. He played awful in Game Two, but it wasn’t necessarily because of an injury. On the other hand, that could however explain his poor play.
The more likely scenario is that Carlisle decided to bench him and tried to do it in a way without making either side come off looking bad.
If that is the case….
Why it’s the right move
Rondo looked uninvested in Game Two of the series. At one point he got two fouls and a technical in a span of 35 seconds, putting himself in foul trouble.
The Mavericks have basically been playing without him, and the numbers show that Rondo could be hindering his offense and not helping it.
Before Rajon Rondo trade, Mavericks were on pace for highest off. effic in NBA history. After trade, off. effic dropped by > 9 pts/100 poss
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 22, 2015
That is enough right there to bench him. Plus, his protests of Carlisle calling the plays has hurt the Mavericks as well.
Plus, Rondo hasn’t been his former self and during the regular season averaged 9.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists in 46 regular season games for the Mavericks, all below his career averages.
He also could be actually injured, which would make this the right move as well.
Why it’s the wrong move
The Mavericks are in a 0-2 hole to the Houston Rockets, and with Chandler Parsons already out they need all hands on deck.
They also traded for Rondo and would’ve liked this experiment to workout and keep him around in the future, his presence can help recruit other big name free agents in the near future.
If the plan is to still keep Rondo around, they probably need him on the court and happy. They’d need him and Carlisle to come to terms and find a way to co-exist.
By benching him they’re basically conceding the series to Houston.