Rajon Rondo had a huge effort against his old team, Gorgui Dieng tallied two double-doubles and Russ Smith played in his sixth game of the season.
Here’s a closer look at how Rondo and the two University of Louisville products on NBA rosters did in the 10th week of the season.
Rondo (Dallas Mavericks): The Louisville native, former University of Kentucky standout point guard and ninth-year pro averaged 10.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 8.8 assists in four games for the Mavericks, who went 3-1.
Last Friday night Rondo lit up his former team for a season-high 29 points, to go along with six rebounds and five assists, in Dallas’ 119-101 win at Boston. He was 12 for 19 from the field, including 5 of 7 from 3-point range, and also had one steal and two turnovers in 35 minutes.
Two days later Rondo tallied four points, four rebounds and eight assists in the Mavs’ 109-90 victory at Cleveland. He was 2 for 6 from the field, including 0 of 1 from 3-point range, and also had two steals, one blocked shot and one turnover in 28 minutes.
Monday night Rondo totaled two points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists in Dallas’ 96-88 overtime win at Brooklyn. He was an abysmal 1 for 13 from the field, including 0 of 2 from 3-point range, and 0 of 2 from the free throw line to go along with two steals and one turnover in 37 minutes.
Wednesday night he had six points, six rebounds and eight assists in the Mavs’ surprising 108-95 loss to visiting Detroit. He was 3-for-7 from the field and also tallied two assists and a woeful seven turnovers in 28 minutes
For the season Rondo is averaging 9.4 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists per game for the Mavs (26-11).
Dieng (Minnesota Timberwolves): The second-year center from UofL averaged 13.8 points, 9.3 rebounds and two blocked shots in four games for the Timberwolves, who went 0-4 this past week.
Dieng began the new year with a double-double (15 points and 10 rebounds) in Minnesota’s 110-107 loss to Sacramento last Thursday. He was 7 for 10 from the field but only 1 for 4 from the free throw line while also recording two assists, two blocked shots and three turnovers in 30 minutes.
Two nights later Dieng tallied 10 points and six rebounds in the T-Wolves’ 101-89 loss to Utah. He was 2 for 7 from the field and 6 of 6 from the free throw line while also blocking two shots and recording one assist, one steal and one turnover in 33 minutes.
Monday night Dieng had 22 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots in Minnesota’s 110-101 loss to Denver. He was 8 for 12 from the field and 6 of 6 from the free throw line while also registering two steals and two turnovers in 35 minutes.
Then Dieng totaled eight points, nine rebounds and four assists in the T-Wolves’ 113-111 loss (their 13th in a row) to Phoenix on Wednesday night. He was 3-for-10 from the field and 2 of 4 from the free throw line while also recording one steal, one blocked shot and one turnover in 38 minutes.
Dieng is averaging 9.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game on the season for Minnesota (5-29), which is fifth in the Northwest Division and has the worst record in the Western Conference.
Smith (New Orleans Pelicans): The rookie guard from UofL played in his sixth game of the season for the Pelicans, who went 1-2 this past week.
Russdiculous, who had a trio of New Year’s resolutions, went 0-for-1 from the field and dished out two assists in New Orleans’ 111-83 win over Houston this past Friday.
Then, however, he was inactive in the Pelicans’ 92-85 loss to visiting Washington on Monday and their 98-94 loss at Charlotte on Wednesday night.
So far Smith is averaging 0.8 points, 0.5 rebounds and 0.3 assists in six games for the Pelicans (17-18) this season.
Photo courtesy of the Dallas Mavericks Facebook Page
