If you were to tell me that Rajon Rondo and Chandler Parsons would be added to the starting lineup this season for the Dallas Mavericks and they would struggle, I would’ve called you a liar. Sure, maybe they lose two games in a row or something. But if you were to tell me that they would lose five or nine then, I’d say there was no way. But that is precisely what has happened nine games.
What’s going on?
For starters, Rondo has struggled mightily during this stretch. Of course, there is room for nuance, which is always the case. In the last nine games, Rondo has shot 41 percent from the field, which doesn’t seem that bad on the surface. But when you explore further, it becomes quite clear why the Mavericks lost the games that it did.
Against the Chicago Bulls, Rondo shot 3-for-9 from the field, not getting to the free throw line at all in that game. Against the Los Angeles Clippers earlier this month, he went 1-for-11 from the field en route to another loss.
In the month of January, Rondo is averaging 9.5 points per game, 5.2 rebounds and six assists per game, but he is doing it shooting 40 percent from the field and 11 percent from free throw line. Ironically, he is shooting 45 percent from three-point range.
His average to mediocre percentage from the field is a result of three very efficient games that he has had this month, but other than that, every other game has been a poor shooting night for him.
This season, Rondo has a PER (Player Efficiency Rating) of 14.60, which is 31st for point guards in the league. It is 155th in the entire league. He’s just right underneath Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.
Secondly, the Mavericks are averaging 101 points per game in the last nine games, which is down from their nearly league-leading 107 points per game. But they are also giving up 101 points per game in the last nine during the process.
This is all very strange, because once Rondo came in I would have almost always thought that Dallas’ defense would get better even if their offense might suffer, which it hasn’t.
Another problem the last nine games has been the play of Jose Juan Barea, which is normally very good. Per 100 possessions, Barea is averaging 22.7 points per game and 10.3 assists per game, which is very efficient. His PER is 17.01 for the season. In the last nine games, Barea has shot 37.5 percent from the field, which has been uncharacteristically inefficient.
The Mavericks have all the tools at their disposal to turn this dry spell around, but anybody who watches basketball knows that going into the All-Star break like this can spell trouble if it is not nipped in the bud. The point is not to blame these two point guards for a lack of production. They are not to blame for losses.
But what I see is two players that are struggling, are as a result, the Mavericks have struggled. Just like any other team, they need solid, smart point guard play in order to play efficiently, and most importantly, to win.