Rajon Rondo got into a verbal altercation with his coach, Gorgui Dieng had another double-double and Russ Smith returned to the D-League.
Here’s a closer look at how Rondo and the two UofL products on NBA rosters did in the 17th week of the season.
Rondo (Dallas Mavericks): The Louisville native, former University of Kentucky standout point guard and ninth-year pro averaged 8.3 points and 3.7 assists in three games for the Mavs.
Rondo had 13 points and three assists in Dallas’ 111-100 win over Houston this past Friday night. He was 6 for 9 from the field and 1 of 4 from the free throw line but also had six turnovers in 21 minutes.
Sunday, Rondo recorded eight points, four assists and three rebounds in the Mavs’ 92-81 win over Charlotte. He was 4 for 8 from the field, including 0 of 1 from 3-point range, and also had one steal and four turnovers in 27 minutes.
Then Tuesday night Rondo had four points, four assists and two rebounds in Dallas’ 99-92 victory over Toronto. He was 2 for 6 from the field and also had two turnovers in 18 minutes. Rondo, though, didn’t play in the final 20-plus minutes after an on-court shouting match with Mavs coach Rick Carlisle. According to reports, the two got into it again after the game in the locker room too.
As a result of his confrontations with Carlisle, Rondo was suspended for Wednesday night’s 104-87 loss at Atlanta.
For the season Rondo is averaging 8.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game for the Mavs (39-21), who are third in the Southwest Division and fifth overall in the Western Conference.
Dieng (Minnesota Timberwolves): The second-year center from UofL averaged 9.3 points and 11 rebounds in three games for the T-Wolves, who went 2-1.
Dieng (pictured above) had 15 points, 12 rebounds (his 14th double-double of the season) and two blocked shots in Friday’s 111-109 win over Phoenix. He was 6 for 8 from the field and 3 of 6 from the free throw line while also registering one assist and two turnovers in 38 minutes.
Monday night Dieng had seven points, 14 rebounds and four assists in Minnesota’s 113-102 loss at Houston. He was 1 for 4 from the field and 5 of 6 from the free throw line while also recording one blocked shot and one steal in 27 minutes.
Then Dieng had six points and seven rebounds in the T-Wolves’ 97-77 win (which also doubled as Kevin Garnett’s first game back in a Minnesota uniform) over Washington on Wednesday night.
Dieng is averaging 9.5 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game on the season for Minnesota (13-43).
Smith (Memphis Grizzlies): The rookie guard from UofL was re-assigned, again, to the Iowa Energy - the Grizzlies’ NBA Development League affiliate.
He missed the Grizzlies’ 98-82 win at Portland on Sunday, their 90-87 win at the Los Angeles Clippers and their 102-90 loss at Sacramento on Wednesday, when he scored 11 points for the Energy in its overtime loss to Peyton Siva and Erie. Siva had 15 points and four assists in his team’s triumph.
So far this season Smith, who is averaging 16.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists in the D-League, is averaging 1.4 points per game in six contests with the New Orleans Pelicans and one game with Memphis (41-14), which is leading the Southwest Division and is second overall in the Western Conference.
Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Timberwolves Facebook Page
