The Dallas Mavericks made a trade for Rajon Rondo in the middle of the season expecting the point guard to be the final piece of the championship puzzle. However, that plan has not come to fruition and now Rondo is officially ruled out for the remainder of the Mavericks first playoff series due to a back injury. Depth is now an issue for the Mavericks as they are in desperate need of a win against the Houston Rockets.
Rondo will be out for the remainder of the Houston Rockets' series after the Mavericks announced the point guard was dealing with a back injury. This comes after Rondo was benched in the fourth quarter of Game 2 despite the Mavericks losing. Now depth is an issue for the team as the Mavericks will also be without Chandler Parsons who is set to get surgery in the coming weeks. Rondo is not expected to return in free agency after he struggled with Rick Carlisle in his short time in Dallas. Parsons is expected to return next year after inking a three-year contract. He thought he would be able to get healthy for the playoffs, but the Mavericks were forced to rule him out.
With Parsons and Rondo out, players like JJ Barea, Monta Ellis and Devin Harris will be relied on heavily. Harris missed Game 2 with a toe injury, but is expected to be healthy for Game 3 as Barea and Ellis manned the backcourt. However, so far they are not proving to be enough to get past James Harden and Dwight Howard as the Rockets are purely dominating Dallas right now. However, put up 28 points and 12 rebounds on Tuesday, playing his most minutes since January 19.
The Rockets need Howard healthy for this series and beyond. Harden has carried the team while the center was injured during the regular season, but Howard is the defensive x-factor and looking every bit that part so far in the playoffs. Howard has been a solid matchup with Tyson Chandler and getting the best of the Mavericks center through two games.
The Rockets have been excelling on the improved play of Josh Smith. Like Rondo, Smith was acquired mid-year and has helped in the shooting effort for the Rockets. He had 15 points and nine assists in Game 2 and could do the same in Game 3.
Watch Dallas vs. Houston Game 3 live stream, click here.