DALLAS
The Dallas Mavericks players did not practice on Wednesday, but Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle addressed the media outside the team's executive offices and Carlisle had plenty to say about two subjects in particular, Chandler Parsons and Rajon Rondo.
Parsons did not play in Dallas' 111-99 loss to the Houston Rockets in Game 2 of the first round of the NBA Playoffs on Tuesday night and about an hour before Carlisle spoke, the Mavericks issued a press release stating that Parsons, who had missed the last six regular-season games with right knee soreness before playing 37 minutes in Game 1, was out for the rest of the season.
"He's officially shut down for the remainder of the season and he and the team are exploring surgical options. I don't have any details beyond that," Carlisle said of Parsons' status.
Carlisle added: "My understanding is that surgery is a certainty -- that surgery will happen. You never want to hear that, but at this point and time it appears to be an absolute."
As for Rondo, who was benched for all but 34 seconds in the fourth quarter on Tuesday after his worst performance since joining Dallas in a mid-December 2014 trade, he has been ruled out indefinitely with a back injury.
"Rondo's situation is the following: He sustained a back injury basically at the 11-minute mark of the first quarter last night. He attempted to take a charge on James Harden, hit the ground and from that point going forward probably should not have played any more, but he did," Carlisle said. "He wasn't able to play his game or play as well as he can play. Today, it's not good, so he is going to seek additional opinions. That's where things are at with him."
Carlisle was later asked if Rondo will be around the team for the rest of the best-of-seven series, one which Dallas currently trails 0-2, and his reply was quick and to the point.
"He is seeking additional medical opinions. For now, he will not be around the team," Carlisle said.
And the veteran NBA head coach's response was even shorter when asked if he ever expected to see Rondo in a Mavericks uniform again.
Later in the press gathering, the Mavs head coach was asked if he had the right personality to coach Rondo. He replied in the affirmative but also referred to No. 9 in the past tense, an interesting choice of words to say the least.
"I like Rondo. I do. My relationship with him was professional, we learned a lot going through this -- trying to make this thing work," Carlisle said. "And the fact that it manifest now with there being an injury and everything is something that we didn't want."
However, the news is much more favorable when it comes to backup point guard Devin Harris, who missed Game 2 with turf toe in his left big toe.
Harris has been upgraded to probable for Game 3, which means that he could be Dallas' starting point guard unless Carlisle opts to go with J.J. Barea, who played 34 minutes in Game 2.
"With Rondo being out, that (Harris being probable is) good news because we're going to need manpower at the guard position," Carlisle said.
Carlisle said he expects Parsons to make a full recovery, but that fact still doesn't make seeing one of his top players done for the year any easier to stomach.
"The one thing I do know is this is a time where we take pause. This is a 26-year-old kid who's a big part of our present and a big part of our future, who had a terrific year for us and got better and better as the season went on. And anytime surgery enters the equation, it's not a good thing," Carlisle said. "I talked to him today (Wednesday). He's extremely disappointed, but the important thing is to find the right surgical situation, get to it as quickly as possible so that he can begin his recovery as quickly as possible and have a great summer and get ready for next year."
Always the optimist, Carlisle feels that until the Mavs are officially eliminated from the postseason, something which many feel could come as soon as Sunday night when Dallas hosts Game 4 at AAC, there is always a chance to start righting the ship since they are back in such familiar surroundings.
"Well, we're coming home and we got the best fans in the league. We're excited to be home, so that's where we are," Carlisle said.
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