Rajon Rondo Suspended One Game For Altercation With Rick Carlisle
Rajon Rondo and Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle haven’t been on the exact same page since Rondo arrived from Boston, but no more so than on Tuesday night when Rondo and Carlisle had a heated exchange during the third quarter of the Mavs game against the Toronto Raptors. This led to Carlisle benching Rondo for the most of the remainder of the game, with a one-game suspension to follow after the game.
From ESPN Dallas’ Tim McMahon:
Rondo and Carlisle had another emotionally charged dispute in the locker room after the game, sources told ESPNDallas.com, and the Mavs subsequently announced Rondo’s suspension a little more than two hours before Wednesday’s tipoff.
Team sources told ESPNDallas.com that friction had been building between Carlisle and Rondo over play-calling responsibilities, the majority of which the coach has handled. Former Mavs point guard Jason Kidd had similar frustrations during his first season playing with Carlisle, although it never resulted in a public outburst.
Dallas will play the Atlanta Hawks tonight on a back-to-back without Rondo.
It’s been said that Rondo has one of those brilliant but arrogant personalities. There are those who have even dubbed him an official diva. Rick Carlisle is a provenly brilliant coach that wants his team and offense run a particular way. Sometimes point guards can disagree and divert on their own know-how, but in this case, it looked like Rondo just wasn’t interested in listening to his head coach.