Basketball is meant to be entertainment. It’s theater. And in every great story, there’s someone we root for and someone we don’t, for one reason or another.
It just so happens that, after one of the most chaotic, frenzied summers in terms of player movement in NBA history, the Chicago Bulls have two players on their roster who probably won’t be eating and drinking for free in Dallas anytime soon: Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo.
You know the story with Wade. The former Heat shooting guard won the Finals MVP in 2006 after Miami’s 4-2 series win against the Mavericks. Controversy swirled as Wade attempted dozens of free throws in the final few games. Dallas, of course, would earn its revenge five years later as Dirk Nowitzki finally won a championship of his own against Wade and the Heat’s Big 3. Wade has averaged 19.1 points, 4.3 boards, and 3.1 assists as a Bull.
Then there’s Rondo. His time in Dallas during the 2014-15 season unfortunately just didn’t work out, for many reasons. While Wade earned Mavs fans’ disliking because of his victory, Rondo has been booed here because of what could have been that ultimately didn’t happen. After half a season with the Mavs, he left as a free agent. He’s averaging 8.6 points, 7.6 assists, and 7.0 rebounds per game in Chicago.
In a recent Chicago Tribune article, Rondo expressed his thoughts about his relationship with Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle.
“He’s a champion,” Rondo said. “You can’t take that from me. You can’t take that from him. It just didn’t work out, that two champions couldn’t figure it out.
“I have a lot of respect for Rick. Just because things don’t go well doesn’t mean you hate a person or that the media perception is right. Rick and I had a good relationship in the beginning. We tried to work it out. I worked with him every day on my shot. We watched film together. Not every marriage works. It was a learning process.”
It certainly was a process with the Mavericks, but unfortunately it didn’t lead to the desired results.
Carlisle has been nothing but complimentary of Rondo since he left Dallas.
“Rondo’s a big challenge because of his penetration, his rebounding, his playmaking,” he said at this morning’s shootaround. “He’s scoring the ball better, his shooting’s gotten better.”
There aren’t many players who have reached that “heel” status in recent Mavs lore. DeAndre Jordan probably qualifies, but otherwise Dallas has for the most part avoided major controversy with opposing players.
But the fact that the Bulls have both Wade and Rondo should make tonight’s game a bit more interesting, to say the least. American Airlines Center is going to be buzzing. This is a game you’ll want to see.
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