In the New York Knicks locker room, the atmosphere was exceptionally heavy.
Rondo looked at his teammates with guilt written all over his face, his voice low and full of apology. "Sorry. My fault!"
His gaze lingered especially on Carmelo Anthony, who had played brilliantly in this game and dropped a wild 50 points.
Carmelo Anthony had nearly given everything he had in this game, battling fiercely from start to finish, yet they had ultimately lost because of Rondo's mistake.
To say he was not angry would have been a lie. The fact that Carmelo Anthony had managed not to throw a punch was already considerable restraint.
Looking back over the season so far, Rondo's numbers had truly been nothing impressive.
He had averaged just 9.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 8.9 assists, 1.3 steals, and as many as 3.4 turnovers per game.
For a starting point guard, those numbers could only be called ordinary—perhaps even below passing.
Moreover, Rondo lacked shooting ability, often leaving the team in the awkward position of playing four-on-five offensively and making it difficult to create spacing.
In the past, Carmelo Anthony might have barely tolerated those problems, but this time, he truly could not endure them any longer.
After the postgame interviews ended, he deliberately approached the head coach and spoke without beating around the bush. "Coach, do you think Rondo is still suited to be our starting point guard? There's no denying that his playmaking ability is very strong!
"But his weaknesses are far too obvious. Opponents can easily exploit them with targeted defense!"
"So I suggest it's time to make an adjustment to the starting lineup. We might as well boldly try something new. Of course, if the results aren't satisfactory, we can always switch back to the original lineup. What do you think,