Rajon Rondo took a big hit, Gorgui Dieng had another double-double but also moved back to the bench and Russ Smith had a big week in the D-League.
Here’s a closer look at how Rondo and the two University of Louisville products on NBA rosters did in the 14th week of the season.
Rondo (Dallas Mavericks): The Louisville native, former University of Kentucky standout point guard and ninth-year pro averaged two points, two rebounds and two assists in two games for the Mavericks, who went 3-1 this past week.
Rondo tallied four points, four rebounds and four assists as Dallas ended its four-game losing streak with a 93-72 win at Miami last Friday night. He was 2 of 4 from the field and also registered two steals and two turnovers in 23 minutes.
The next night Rondo played less than 2 minutes, after suffering an orbital and nasal fracture, in the Mavs’ 108-93 victory at Orlando. He got hurt when he ran into the knee of teammate Richard Jefferson as he tried to get up off the floor.
Rondo then sat out Dallas’ 100-94 win over Minnesota on Monday night and its 128-114 loss at Golden State on Wednesday night.
Wednesday, Mavs owner Mark Cuban said that Rondo will undergo facial surgery and it’s unsure how long he will be out.
For the season Rondo is averaging 8.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 8.7 assists per game for the Mavs (33-18), who are third in the Southwest Division.
Dieng (Minnesota Timberwolves): The second-year center from UofL averaged 10 points, 7.8 rebounds, two assists in four games for the Timberwolves, who went 1-3 this past week.
Dieng (pictured above) had his 13th double-double of the season (14 points and 10 rebounds) in Minnesota’s 103-94 loss at Philadelphia this past Friday night. He was 5 for 10 from the field, including 0 of 1 from 3-point range, and 4 for 5 from the free throw line. He also had three blocked shots, two assists, two steals and three turnovers in 32 minutes.
The next night he had just four points and three rebounds in the T-Wolves’ 106-90 loss to Cleveland. Dieng was 0-for-3 from the field but 4 of 6 from the free throw line. He also had three assists, one blocked shot and one steal in 20 minutes.
Then Monday night he had nine points, nine rebounds and two assists off the bench (his first time as a reserve since early in the season) as Nikola Pekovic (wrist injury) returned to the lineup in Minnesota’s 100-94 loss at Dallas. He was 4 for 8 from the field and 1 of 2 from the free throw line while also registering one steal and one turnover in 21 minutes.
Wednesday night Dieng had 13 points and nine rebounds off the bench in the T-Wolves’ 102-101 win over visiting Miami. He was 4 for 5 from the field and 5 of 5 from the free throw line while also recording one blocked shot, one assist and one turnover in 27 minutes.
Dieng is averaging 10 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game on the season for Minnesota (9-40).
Smith (Memphis Grizzlies): The rookie guard from UofL had another big week for the Iowa Energy, the Grizzlies’ NBA Development League affiliate.
Russdiculous missed Memphis’ four wins (99-69 over Denver this past Thursday, 85-74 over Oklahoma City on Saturday night, 102-101 at Phoenix on Monday night and 100-90 at Utah on Wednesday night), but had 17 and 22 points, respectively, in a pair of Energy wins last Thursday and Saturday. Smith is averaging 18 points and 4.2 assists this season in the D-League.
Smith, who averaged 0.8 points, 0.5 rebounds and 0.3 assists in six appearances with the New Orleans Pelicans this season, is awaiting to see his first action with Memphis (37-12), which is first in the Southwest Division.
