Rajon Rondo and Gorgui Dieng had decent weeks for Dallas and Minnesota, respectively, as did Russ Smith in the D-League.
Here’s a closer look at how Rondo and the two UofL products on NBA rosters did in the 19th week of the season.
Rondo (Dallas Mavericks): The Louisville native, former University of Kentucky standout point guard and ninth-year pro averaged nine points, four rebounds and 6.8 assists in four games for the Mavs, who went 1-3.
Rondo tallied 10 points, nine assists and seven rebounds in Dallas’ 94-75 loss at Portland last Thursday. He was 5 for 13 from the field, including 0 of 1 from 3-point range, and also had one steal and four turnovers in 29 minutes.
The next night Rondo had 14 points, six assists and four rebounds in the Mavs’ 104-89 loss at Golden State. He was 6 for 15 from the field, including 1 of 2 from 3-point range, and 1 of 2 from the free throw line while also recording two steals in 32 minutes.
Rondo registered eight points, nine assists and four rebounds in Dallas’ 100-93 win at the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday. He was 4 for 10 from the field, including 0 of 2 from 3-point range, while also committing three turnovers in 36 minutes.
Rondo had four points, three assists and one rebound in the Mavs’ 127-94 loss to Cleveland that left recently-acquired Amar’e Stoudemire calling out his team Tuesday night. He was 2 for 6 from the field, including 0 of 1 from 3-point range, and also had one steal and two turnovers in 24 minutes.
For the season Rondo is averaging 8.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and eight assists per game for the Mavs (41-25), who are fourth in the Southwest Division and seventh overall in the Western Conference.
Dieng (Minnesota Timberwolves): The second-year center from UofL averaged 7.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and three assists in three games for the T-Wolves, who went 1-2.
Dieng had six points, five rebounds and four assists in Minnesota’s 121-113 win over Portland on Saturday. He was 2 for 3 from the field and 2 of 2 from the free throw line while also recording one block, one steal and two turnovers in 27 minutes.
Monday night Dieng tallied six points and 10 rebounds in the T-Wolves’ 89-76 loss at the L.A. Clippers. He was 3 for 8 from the field while also registering one block and one assist in 27 minutes.
Dieng had 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists in Minnesota’s 106-97 loss at Phoenix on Wednesday night. He was 3 for 4 from the field and 4 of 4 from the free throw line while also recording one steal and two turnovers in 31 minutes off the bench.
Dieng is averaging 9.3 points, 8.5 rebounds and two assists per game on the season for Minnesota (14-49), which has the worst record in the Western Conference.
Smith (Memphis Grizzlies): The rookie guard from UofL had a solid week - averaging 15 points per game - for the Iowa Energy, the Grizzlies’ NBA Development League affiliate.
He missed Memphis’ 97-90 win over the Lakers last Friday, its 95-89 loss at New Orleans on Saturday, its 101-91 win at Chicago on Monday night and its 95-92 loss at Boston on Wednesday night while scoring 15 points in a pair of Energy wins.
So far this season Smith, who is averaging 18.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists in the D-League, is averaging 1.4 points per game in six games with the New Orleans Pelicans and one game with Memphis (45-19), which is leading the Southwest Division and is second overall in the Western Conference.
Photo courtesy of the Dallas Mavericks Facebook Page
