Rick Carlisle isn’t letting Saturday’s miserable shooting performance cloud his judgment of the Boston Celtics.
The Dallas Mavericks head coach told reporters Monday that he’s preparing for the Celtics team that routed the Brooklyn Nets on opening night, not the one that went 1-for-25 from 3-point range in its blowout loss to the Houston Rockets.
“We’ve got to be careful how we approach this game,” Carlisle said, via The Dallas Morning News. “They had an off shooting night in Houston. If they make a few more threes, that could be a vastly different game. And they put a walloping on Brooklyn in the opening game, and Brooklyn is a quality team. So, we respect these guys.”
Carlisle knows his team will have to pay special attention to Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo, who has enjoyed success against the Mavs in the past. Rondo just missed a triple-double (15 points, 12 assists, eight rebounds) when these teams met last season in Boston, though Dallas came away with a 102-91 win.
“We’ve been victim of a lot of his games where he’s done everything — triple-doubles, scoring, assists as well as rebounding,” Carlisle said. “He’s a great player. And the guys around him are younger who are skilled and getting better.”
The Celtics visit the Mavericks on Monday night to wrap up their two-game Texas road trip.
Photo via Mark L. Baer/USA TODAY Sports Images
