Tim MacMahon, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Mavs try to make square Rondo peg fit in round hole

DALLAS -- Rajon Rondo clearly didn’t win his argument with coach Rick Carlisle, but it appears he at least got a couple of points across in the calmer conversations that followed.

The shouting matches -- during a timeout during Tuesday’s win over the Toronto Raptors and an even more heated rematch in the locker room after the game -- stemmed from a dispute over who should handle play-calling duties. They resulted in a one-game suspension for Rondo, and Carlisle was still calling plays during the point guard’s return Saturday night.

“That’s just the way it is,” Rondo said almost an hour after the Brooklyn Nets handed the Dallas Mavericks a 104-94 loss, having wrapped up an extended postgame shooting session. “That’s the system. I’m still learning, and I’ll find a way.”

Of course, it’s Carlisle’s job to help Rondo find a way. That’s why they’ve spent hours talking over the past four days. Some of the plays Carlisle called proved his willingness to adjust, attempting to make the Mavs’ midseason blockbuster-trade acquisition comfortable.

Case in point: Dallas repeatedly ran sets designed to run the offense through Rondo on the block, a new wrinkle for these Mavs but old hat for the four-time All-Star point guard.

“I think he’s mixed some stuff up as far as what worked for me in Boston a couple of years back when we had a great run,” Rondo said. “Just put the ball in my hands in different situations, not just pounding up top. Getting in the post and making plays for my teammates and for myself.”

The results weren’t great in Rondo’s return. He posted a so-so statistical line -- eight points on 4-of-10 shooting, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 turnovers -- but the Mavs were minus-22 in the 27:43 Rondo was on the floor.

In fairness, Rondo and the Mavs were forced to play without three of their regular starters. Center Tyson Chandler (hip) and small forward Chandler Parsons (ankle) wore sport coats and sat on the bench while nursing injuries. Shooting guard Monta Ellis (4-of-16 shooting) just didn’t show up.

But perhaps the Mavs’ biggest issue is figuring out how to make the square peg that is Rondo fit into the round hole that is the point guard’s role in Carlisle’s system.

If Carlisle had his way, the Mavs would never have to call a play. They’d just play free-flowing offense at all times. But that doesn’t work with Rondo, whose shooting woes allow defenses to dare him to beat them from the perimeter, screwing up the spacing for everybody else.

So the Mavs must adjust their offensive scheme to mask Rondo’s weaknesses and maximize his strengths.

“We’re in a situation where his abilities mesh with our team a certain way, and there is more play-calling when he’s on the floor because that’s been the most successful way for us to play offensively,” Carlisle said earlier this week. “He and I early on talked a lot about the right plays to call and the right tempo to play at and things like that, and we got away from it in recent games. We’ve got to get back to it. That’s on both of us.”

It’s on Rondo to run the plays Carlisle calls, no questions asked and no side-eyes given. It’s on Carlisle to be flexible enough to at least tinker in the final quarter of the regular season with some sets that make Rondo the most comfortable, even if that means the rest of the Mavs must adjust.

“We put some new stuff in,” Dirk Nowitzki said. “We need to get used to that and be efficient with it, play around with some stuff and find ways to be a good offensive team.”

That’s quite a challenge with a point guard who is an awkward fit, which is a much bigger problem for the Mavs than any vocal pyrotechnics.

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