The Dallas Mavericks has already exited the NBA playoffs with a 4-1 beating at the hands of cross-state rivals the Houston Rockets right in the first round.
Considering the level of play of James Harden and the Rockets lately, it was quite expected that the Mavericks will have their hands full and as the lower seed, were merely hoping an upset in the first round encounter.
But what’s take the cake from the debacle of the Mavericks in the playoffs is how head coach Rick Carlisle benched Rajon Rondo in the last three games in what could be the former All-Star point guard’s defining moment in favor of Puerto Rican J.J. Barea.
For a player who has two championship rings and who back in 2008 and 2010 had some of his finest NBA moments playing alongside the Big Three of the Boston Celtics in the persons of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen, the playoff benching was a big slap on the face of Rajon Rondo.
It was also a big statement on the part of Rick Carlisle to tell Rondo who exactly between them calls the shot in the team and who is being ably supported by team owner Mark Cuban.
Not-so-graceful exit
It was a not-so-graceful exit actually for Rondo with the Dallas Mavericks as much as the Mavs were unceremoniously booted out of the first round of the playoffs.
While there is still no official statement yet from either the Mavs or Rondo, it is almost likely that the fiery point guard will bolt out of the Mavericks when he officially becomes a free agent in a few weeks time and most likely sign with the Los Angeles Lakers and join Kobe Bryant for his last hurrah next season.
Even before Rondo signed with the Mavs in December last year, Kobe Bryant was already enticing him to join the Lakers. Sensing at that time that the Mavericks were a playoff team compared to the Lakers, Rondo opted to sign instead with Dallas.
But not long after donning the Mavericks uniform, Rondo was already clashing with Rick Carlisle. Their argument even spilled into one game earlier this year where Rondo deliberately disobeyed Carlisle’s instruction resulting to an ensuing shouting match from the court and into the bench, which was caught by the media.
Masking his absence
Although Mark Cuban downplayed the spat then as nothing unusual, every NBA media was already projecting the parting of ways of Carlisle and Rondo by the end of the current NBA season. Carlisle obviously wants to end it for good that is why the benching of Rondo during the playoffs.