The Dallas Mavericks are heading home down two games to none in their playoff series against the Houston Rockets. While it is obviously disappointing to be down 2-0 at any point, it has to be a bit worse for Dallas given the rivalry between the two teams.
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Still, the series is far from over, and Dallas will certainly look to get a boost from playing in front of their home crowd for the next couple of games. They need it, as the team looked to be playing a bit lazily at points in the first two games. After last night's loss, head coach Rick Carlisle even went so far as to imply that star point guard Rajon Rondo may not be trying his hardest.
Carlisle on Rondo and if he wanted to play. “You can ask him that. All I know is right now we need everyone at their competitive best."
— CBS Sports NBA (@CBSSportsNBA) April 22, 2015
Rondo and Carlisle have not been on the same page since the mercurial point guard arrived in Dallas months ago. The team had hoped he could be a key piece of the franchise moving forward, but it appears likely that he will leave in free agency this summer.
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Rondo has been linked to the Los Angeles Lakers for some time, and that is where nearly everyone expects him to end up after the season.
While Dallas would undoubtedly be okay with a half-year rental of Rondo if it brought the team a championship, it instead appears that his presence may be taking its toll on the players and coaches. The margin of error narrows considerably for teams once the playoffs start, and if Rondo is playing anything less than his hardest, Dallas will get to go on summer vacation earlier than they hoped.
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