Let’s get this right out of the way. Players sometimes disagree with each other. Players and coaches often do the same. Sometimes it’s a lingering problem but quite often it’s nothing to be alarmed about. That said, here’s ESPN Dallas reporting on Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle and relatively new Mavs point guard Rajon Rondo:
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Carlisle predictably wasn’t in much of a mood to chat about Rondo after Tuesday night’s 99-92 win over the Toronto Raptors. Nor was Rondo, at least to the media.
But Carlisle and Rondo had plenty to say to each other during a tense timeout with 8:10 remaining in the third quarter. The stubborn coach and headstrong point guard exchanged a lot of expletives as they shouted at each other in a dispute stemming from Rondo’s desire to have more play-calling responsibilities.
“Well, it’s an emotional game and we had a difference of opinion,” Carlisle said. “There was an exchange, and then, in my mind, it was over.”
Well, it apparently lasted at least the rest of the game. The evidence: Rondo rode the pine for the final 20:10, a span in which reserve guards Devin Harris and J.J. Barea played key roles in the Mavs’ rally from a nine-point deficit.
