Mavericks guard Rondo suspended one game for dust-up with Carlisle

Dallas Mavericks point guard Rajon Rondo was suspended for one game without pay on Wednesday by the organization for conduct detrimental to the team.

The suspension forced Rondo to sit out Wednesday night’s 104-87 loss to the Hawks in Atlanta. Coach Rick Carlisle said Rondo will practice on Friday and be back in the starting lineup Saturday at home against the Brooklyn Nets.

The suspension came after the guard had a confrontation with Carlisle early in the third quarter of Tuesday’s game against the Toronto Raptors.

While Rondo was dribbling upcourt, Carlisle was trying to get his attention and get Rondo to run a certain play.

After it appeared Rondo ignored Carlisle, the coach furiously rushed on the court and called timeout, and then said some choice words as Rondo headed to the bench.

Rondo then yelled and cursed Carlisle, before Carlisle yelled and cursed back.

Before the Hawks’ game, Carlisle attempted to resolve the dust-up.

“The incident last night was born in large part from poor communication between him and I, and that’s on both of us,” Carlisle said. “We had a long talk about the situation today and we both agreed that we need to communicate more frequently and we need to work on the solution for making his stint as a Dallas Mavericks the most successful one possible.

“I want to stress and reiterate how important Rajon Rondo is to the Dallas Mavericks. For us to get where we want to get this season, his abilities have to be utilized by us the best possible way. That’s in large part my responsibility, and I do not dodge that.”

Rondo was expected to be the type of top-level point guard the Mavs have been lacking since Jason Kidd left in 2012. So far, he’s been inconsistent, with the team averaging fewer points offensively than before the trade in mid December.

“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 to play offensively,” Carlisle said.

“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’ve gotten away from it a little bit in recent games. We’ve got to get back to it. And that’s on both of us.”

Game back on

The Mavs were in talks with the NBA early Wednesday, thinking the Hawks game was going to be postponed because of icy and snowy weather rolling through Atlanta.

“We’re packed and had our stuff, a lot of it loaded on the bus at 3:30 and on the moving truck because we had heard that they’d sent all the employees home here and our desire was to beat the weather and get out,” Carlisle said.

“But the ultimate decision from the league didn’t come until a little later in the day and then all of a sudden the game was back on.”

Chandler hobbled

Center Tyson Chandler missed Wednesday’s game with a right hip contusion sustained Tuesday against the Raptors.

Carlisle said he hopes Chandler can practice Friday and play Saturday against Brooklyn.

This story was originally published February 25, 2015 at 9:41 PM with the headline "Mavericks guard Rondo suspended one game for dust-up with Carlisle."