Rondo has been the Rondo of old lately, producing some highlight-reel plays including a nasty behind the back move and dish to Rudy Gay in the third quarter of Tuesday’s game.
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It was, after all, his impressive statistical feats – his hefty assist totals and litany of triple-doubles – that not only gave him the initial thrust into the conversation of elite floor generals, but allowed him to stay among those rankings for the better part of four consecutive seasons (2009-10 to 2012-13). A rough start has them laboring near the bottom in the Western Conference, but the question is whether they have enough energy, and time, to make their presence felt.
Among players playing at least 15 minutes a night, Rajon Rondo * a href=”http://stats.nba.com/league/player/#!/advanced/?sort=AST_RATIO&dir=1&CF=MIN*GE*15&Season=2015-16&SeasonType=Regular%20Season” target=”_blank” *leads the league in assist ratio (number of assists averaged per 100 possessions) and is second – behind Russell Westbrook – in assist percentage (percent of teammates field goals a player assisted on). Coming off a career-high 35 points against Indiana, Derrick Favours had 14 points and 10 rebounds. Shooting 24.5 percent the last three games, Cousins made 8 of 14 shots last night.
The Jazz made 15 of 36 on 3-point tries, but shot 41 percent overall.
Utah opened the fourth quarter with two baskets, cutting the Sacramento lead 86-84. Rodney Hood made five 3-pointers and had 17 points. Marco Belinelli followed with a 3-pointer, igniting a 7-0 run that put the Kings ahead by nine points.
“Anytime you get down like that and you fight your way back, it’s tough because you have to fight your way all the way back and fight again to take the lead”, Hayward said. F Gordon Hayward, F Derrick Favors and G Alec Burks brought in a combined scoring average of 50.4 points per game, more than half of Utah’s overall total of 97.8….
A 3-pointer by Gay made it 102-90 midway through the fourth.
“I think he has a back and an ankle that are sore”, Kings coach George Karl said.
But, jeez, all that analysis seems a lot less important as soon as the guy does something basketball just don’t see very often.
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Utah was missing Rudy Gobert’s defensive play last night.
