Rajon Rondo had a solid week, Earl Clark saw a little time off the bench while Gorgui Dieng continued to be sidelined by a concussion and Russ Smith had a career game.
Here’s a closer look at how Rondo and the three University of Louisville products on NBA rosters did in the final week of the regular season.
Rondo (Dallas Mavericks): The Louisville native, former University of Kentucky standout point guard and ninth-year pro averaged 11 points, 7.7 assists and 4.7 rebounds in three games for the Mavs, who went 3-1.
Rondo sat out Dallas’ 144-143 double-overtime win at Denver last Friday night to rest since the Mavs had already locked up the seventh seed in upcoming playoffs.
On Sunday, Rondo had 11 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds in Dallas’ 120-106 win at the Los Angeles Lakers. He was 4 for 11 from the field, including 1 of 1 from 3-point range, and 2 of 2 from the free throw line while also recording one steal and committing three turnovers in 30 minutes.
The next night Rondo tallied 13 points, five assists and four rebounds in the Mavs’ 109-92 loss at Utah. He was 4 for 6 from the field, including 2 of 3 from 3-point range, and 3 of 4 from the free throw line while also registering one steal and three turnovers in 32 minutes.
Wednesday night Rondo had nine points, seven assists and two rebounds in Dallas’ 114-98 victory over Portland. He was 4 for 7 from the field, including 0 of 1 from 3-point range, and 1 of 2 from the free throw line while also coming up with two steals and committing four turnovers in 24 minutes.
In the regular season Rondo averaged 8.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 7.9 assists per game for the Mavs (50-32), who finished fourth in the Southwest Division and seventh overall in the Western Conference. Dallas will face second-seeded Houston in the first round of the playoffs.
Clark (Brooklyn Nets): The sixth-year forward from UofL tallied three points and five rebounds in three games for the Nets, who went 2-2 last week.
Clark tallied three points in 3 minutes off the bench in Brooklyn’s 117-80 win over Washington last Friday night. He hit his only field-goal try - a 3-pointer - while also recording one rebound and one assist.
Two days later Clark went scoreless in 10 minutes off the bench in the Nets’ 96-73 loss at Milwaukee. He was 0 for 2 from the free throw line and also registered two rebounds and two turnovers.
The next night Clark went scoreless in 7 minutes off the bench in Brooklyn’s 113-86 loss to Chicago. He was 0 for 2 from the field, including 0 of 1 from 3-point range, while grabbing two rebounds
Clark didn’t play in the Nets’ 101-88 victory over Orlando on Wednesday night.
Clark averaged 2.7 points and 2.3 rebounds in 10 regular-season games for Brooklyn (38-44), which finished third in the Atlantic Division and eighth overall in the Eastern Conference. The Nets will meet top-seeded Atlanta in the first round of the playoffs.
Dieng (Minnesota Timberwolves): The second-year center from UofL missed four T-Wolves’ losses (106-98 at the Lakers on Friday, 110-101 at Golden State on Saturday, 100-88 to New Orleans on Monday and 138-113 to Oklahoma City on Wednesday) due to a concussion.
Dieng averaged 9.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and two assists per game in the regular season for Minnesota (16-66), which finished with the worst record in the league and will have the best chance of winning the NBA Draft Lottery.
Smith (Memphis Grizzlies): The rookie guard from UofL played in a pair of games - producing a career-high point total in the second one - for the Grizzlies, who went 2-2.
Smith went scoreless off the bench in Memphis’ 89-88 win at Utah last Friday night. He missed his only field goal try, a 3-point attempt, in 4 minutes.
Smith didn’t play in the Grizzlies’ 94-86 loss at the L.A. Clippers last Saturday night, but two nights later Russdiculous was awesome off the bench, tallying a career-high 16 points in only 10 minutes of Memphis’ 111-107 loss at Golden State. Smith was 5 for 8 from the field, including 1 of 2 from 3-point range, and 5 for 5 from the free throw line while also recording four assists, two rebounds, one steal and committing one turnover.
Two nights later, though, Smith didn’t play in the Grizzlies’ 95-83 victory over Indiana.
Russdiculous averaged 2.5 points in 12 regular-season games - six with the New Orleans Pelicans and six with Memphis (53-25), which finished tied for second (with San Antonio) in the Southwest Division and fifth overall in the Western Conference. The fifth-seeded Grizzlies will face fourth-seeded Portland in the first round of the playoffs.
Photo courtesy of the Memphis Grizzlies Facebook Page
