On Saturday, during the Mavericks’ victory over the Magic, Rajon Rondo took an inadvertent knee to the face from teammate Richard Jefferson, forcing him to leave the game. Now, ESPN.com’s Marc Stein reports that the Mavs have ruled Rondo out for Monday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and doctors are examining the extent of the injury.
This is not a promising development for the Mavs, who picked up their second straight win one day after snapping a four-game losing streak against the Miami Heat. At 32-17, Dallas currently sits at sixth place in the Western Conference, with games against the Warriors, Blazers and Clippers coming up before the All-Star break. Rondo missing any extended period of time would be a serious setback as they fight for playoff positioning.
Sources say that Rondo, who suffered the injury in the first quarter of Saturday night’s win in Orlando, was scheduled to be evaluated extensively Sunday by the Mavericks’ medical staff to establish a firm timetable on how long he’ll be sidelined.
But Rondo has already been ruled out of the Mavericks’ home game Monday night against the Timberwolves, who will be welcoming Ricky Rubio back to the lineup after his 42-game absence thanks to an ankle injury.
“It was a really bad collision,” Mavericks center Tyson Chandler said of the shot Rondo took to the head just 98 seconds into Saturday’s game. “I don’t know what the prognosis is, but he is pretty beat up.”
This is not a promising development for the Mavs, who picked up their second straight win one day after snapping a four-game losing streak against the Miami Heat. At 32-17, Dallas currently sits at sixth place in the Western Conference, with games against the Warriors, Blazers and Clippers coming up before the All-Star break. Rondo missing any extended period of time would be a serious setback as they fight for playoff positioning.