Time For Rondo To Check His Ego

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Rajon Rondo

It is no secret that throughout his NBA career, point guard Rajon Rondo has been a handful for opponents and on his head coaches as well. During his time with the Boston Celtics, Rondo would clash with former head coach Doc Rivers over his attitude and his inability to stay within the realm of the team offense. After eight-plus seasons with the Celtics, Rondo was traded to the Dallas Mavericks this past December. Rondo was expected to be the missing link that would once again turn the Mavericks into contenders for the NBA Championship, but he instead has become a cancer.

In 25 games with the Mavericks this season, Rondo is only averaging 9.0 points and 6.2 assists per contest. Rondo is only averaging 28 minutes of game action and he is someone that Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle has had no problem benching in late game situations. Like Rondo, Carlisle once played for the Celtics and he won an NBA Championship there as a player in 1986, but he has established a reputation as being a player’s coach while also paying attention to detail. Carlisle needs a point guard that he can trust to run his system, but so far Rondo hasn’t been up to the challenge as he tends to do his own thing. The tension between Rondo and Carlisle reached a feverish boiling point this past Tuesday when the two had to be separated on the Mavericks bench. Both men attempted to downplay the incident, but Rondo was suspended for the Mavericks Wednesday night affair with the Atlanta Hawks for conduct detrimental to the team and it was a move that had to be made as Carlisle needed to maintain his position of authority over his squad.

Rick Carlisle

Regardless of whether or not that Rondo agrees with the basketball philosophies of Carlisle or not, he cannot afford to get into a public confrontation with his head coach. Rondo is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer and he is costing himself some money as no NBA team that is looking to contend for a title will take a chance on a player that is not going to do what a head coach wants him to do.

In spite of winning an NBA Championship in Boston, Rondo had run-ins with Rivers which led him to nearly being traded on several occasions. And now Rivers who is currently the head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers can sit back and say,”I told you so” after seeing Rondo’s recent issues with Carlisle. When a player like Rondo tends to clash with his head coach, you can attribute it to the fact that there needs to be a veteran presence around him. But the Mavericks have veteran leadership on their team in the form of power forward Dirk Nowitzki and center Tyson Chandler and in spite of that Rondo is still acting up. And if the issues with Rondo don’t get addressed soon it will greatly hinder the Mavericks chances to win the NBA Championship this season.

The situation with Rondo has reached the point where there are only two things than can be done. Carlisle and Rondo more than likely will need to have a face-to-face meeting in order to clear the air. And if that is the case then Rondo needs to understand and respect what Carlisle needs from him. Eventually for this marriage to work Rondo will have to conform to Carlisle’s system, but this is a classic example of buyer beware. The Mavericks were in need of an elite point guard, but they should have done more homework before making the move to acquire Rondo if he is unwilling to conform to their system. Carlisle was the Mavericks head coach when they won the NBA Championship in 2011 and he also has the backing of team owner Mark Cuban which means that Rondo is fighting an uphill battle if he wants to have things done his way in Dallas.

If the Mavericks are going to make the NBA Playoffs and navigate their way through the Western Conference, they need everyone to be on the same page. Luckily for the Mavericks they have another veteran point guard in Devin Harris. Harris was expected to be Rondo’s understudy, but he understands and plays within the realm of Carlisle’s system. Harris doesn’t have the ability of Rondo, but he is someone whom Carlisle trusts. This is a dicey situation which will test the mettle of both Carlisle and Cuban, but it could ultimately be remedied if Rondo simply does what his asked of him.

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By | 2015-02-28T11:32:14+00:00 February 28th, 2015|Categories: National Basketball Association|Tags: , , , |0 Comments

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