Mavs' Rondo out indefinitely due to back injury
The Dallas Mavericks are ruling out Rajon Rondo indefinitely, citing a back injury Rondo sustained Tuesday night at Houston, the team said Wednesday.
When asked Wednesday if he expects Rondo, who is a free agent this summer, to be in a Mavericks uniform next season, coach Rick Carlisle replied: “No, I don’t.”
Rondo played only 34 seconds in the second half of Dallas’ Game 2 loss, benched by Carlisle after picking up two quick fouls, while defending James Harden, as well as a technical. The former All-Star logged just under 10 minutes of court time for the whole game.
Rondo had initially hurt his back about a week ago, a source said, but the point guard thought he could play through it and he did not inform the Mavericks’ trainers until after he was called for the blocking foul on Harden, which exacerbated the injury, early in the Game 2 loss. Rondo will be examined by a specialist as soon as possible to determine the extent of the injury.
With Devin Harris (toe) also injured, Carlisle is expected to start J.J. Barea at the point in Game 3.
Injured forward Chandler Parsons, meanwhile, is out for the rest of the season and exploring surgical options for his injured knee. The injury forced him to miss the final six games of the regular season as well as Game 2 of the Houston series. Parsons logged 37 minutes in Game 1 but was playing in obvious discomfort, managing just 10 points on 5-for-15 shooting.
Asked after the game if Rondo wanted to be on the floor, Carlisle told reporters in Houston: “You have to ask him that question. All I know right now is that we need everybody at their competitive best. This isn’t about one guy who did or didn’t play. This is about everybody pulling in the same direction for the organization. That’s what it’s about.”
Just four minutes into the game, Rondo nonchalantly walked the ball up the floor and got whistled for an eight-second backcourt violation with the Rockets applying no pressure. He was then replaced by Barea some 40 seconds later after Jason Terry got loose on the ensuing inbounds pass for a wide-open 3, with Carlisle keeping Rondo on the bench until 5:30 remained in the second quarter.
If Rondo does not play again for the Mavericks, with free agency looming in July, Tuesday’s scenes will mark a downbeat end to his time in Dallas after the Mavs parted with a future first-round pick and high-energy big man Brandan Wright to acquire Rondo in a Dec. 18 trade with the Boston Celtics.
Sources have maintained for weeks that Rondo is planning to sign elsewhere this summer after his longstanding struggles to function in Carlisle’s system or mesh offensively with the likes of Mavs guard Monta Ellis. The Mavericks made the trade for Rondo hopeful that his defense, rebounding and history of big-game production as a Celtic could trump his limitations as a shooter, but Dallas’ spacing with Rondo on the floor has been even worse than feared.
Rondo served a one-game suspension in late February for conduct detrimental to the team after a profanity-laced shouting match with Carlisle about play-calling responsibilities in a win over Toronto and a subsequent emotionally charged dispute in the locker room after the game.
ESPN.com’s Ramona Shelburne contributed to this report.
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