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Monta Ellis doesn't think Rajon Rondo is the problem with the Mavericks

Monta Ellis doesn't think Rajon Rondo is the problem with the Mavericks

Despite an impressive victory against the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night, no team’s win percentage has fallen so sharply in the second half of the season as the Dallas Mavericks', who transformed from a team that won two-thirds of its games to a .500 club soon after the New Year.

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Rajon Rondo has become the easy scapegoat, since the change came a few weeks after Dallas acquired him in exchange for their previous starting point guard (Jameer Nelson) and a pair of role players (Brandan Wright, Jae Crowder) who were key contributors to the team’s 20-8 start.

Rondo’s public feud with Mavs coach Rick Carlisle only added fuel to that fire, but at least one member of the team isn’t buying what the public is selling — namely Monta Ellis, to SI.com.

“There’s no problem (with Rondo),” Ellis says. “Rondo is a great asset on both ends of the floor. It takes a while for the player to really get adjusted to a new system, new personalities, figuring out where guys want the ball. I think it’s going to work out for the best for us once we get over the hump. Take a look at Toronto, you know, (when) Toronto started out they were hot, and they’re going through pretty much the same thing that we’re going through.”

The numbers don’t support the first part of that theory, considering the starting lineup of Ellis, Chandler Parsons, Dirk Nowitzki and Tyson Chandler with Rondo has been outscored by 4.1 points per 100 possessions in 417 minutes together since the Dec. 19 deal, per NBA.com/stats. That four-man combo with Nelson outscored opponents by 12.9 points per 100 possessions in 254 minutes.

In fact, all Dallas lineups containing Rondo have been operating at a team-worst 7.9-point deficit per 100 possessions since the All-Star break. It’s hard to argue his arrival hasn’t been a factor in their recent middling performance, even if handing over minutes previously reserved for Wright and Crowder to Amar’e Stoudemire and Charlie Villanueva has also played a role.

However, Ellis’ larger point — that integrating a new point guard requires a feeling-out period — is an understandable one. Rondo hasn’t shied away from that notion, admitting to Yahoo’s own Marc. J. Spears, “It’s hard to adjust.” Here’s more from their telling Q&A earlier this month.

Q: How tough is it to adjust to a new team after a trade?

Rondo: "It's tough. People think you're supposed to go right in and fit in. You're coming to a completely different system. You got 14 guys adjusting to you. Me as a player and a person, I have to adjust to the 14 guys and make it easier. It hasn't been bad in transition. A lot of support."

That adjustment is ongoing with 10 games left in the regular season — a fair criticism of Mark Cuban’s pursuit of a ball-dominant impending free agent — and if the seventh-place Mavs want this group to continue to get to know each other, they best hope they find their balance soon, because Rondo, Ellis and Chandler are all slated to become free agents this summer.

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Ben Rohrbach

is a contributor for Ball Don't Lie and Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!