Carlisle: This is the year Roddy B. 'puts it all together'
Earl K. Sneed takes a look at the maturation of Dallas Mavericks three-year guard Rodrigue Beaubois, who coach Rick Carlisle believes is due for a breakthrough season.
Carlisle: This is the year Roddy B. 'puts it all together'
DALLAS – It wasn’t that long ago when Dallas Mavericks fans cried for coach Rick Carlisle to “Free Roddy B.”
But, after battling nagging injuries and recovering from multiple surgeries on a broken left foot, Mavericks guard Rodrigue Beaubois has yet to reach or even tap into his full potential following his first three NBA seasons.
That’s all going to change this season, according to Carlisle, as the cat-quick combo guard competes with newcomers Darren Collison, O.J. Mayo and Dahntay Jones, as well as rookie Jared Cunningham, for playing time.
Beaubois has shown glimpses of stardom several times in a Mavericks uniform, but failed to see sustained success when playing behind veterans Jason Kidd and Jason Terry in the backcourt. Now, however, with the two aging mainstays no longer sporting the Mavs’ blue, Beaubois could finally thrive despite the guard-heavy rotation that the team will showcase this upcoming season.
“Roddy is a kid that we all know has a lot of ability,” Carlisle said last week after taking a few questions about Beaubois during the introduction of the Mavs’ off-season signees.
He added: “He’s done a lot of good things over a three or four-year period, and this is the year that he’s gonna put it all together. He’s had to battle through injury issues two out of his three years, and it’s been something that’s hindered him. But, you know, he’s another guy that can play the 1 and can play the 2, and often times when you look on the floor with our team you’re gonna see two guards out there that can both handle the ball and can both play off the ball.”
One reason the coach believes the young guard will have his best year yet is the added flexibility at the guard positions thanks to the additions of Collison, Mayo, Jones and Cunningham, as well as the re-signing of Delonte West. And at least according to Carlisle, a healthy Beaubois will be free to just be Beaubois, no longer asked to be the heir apparent to Kidd as the “point guard of the future” tag is lifted off of his shoulders.
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban shared that believe a month ago during a radio appearance on ESPN 103.3 FM’s “the Ben and Skin Show,” adding that he assigned Beaubois a homework assignment during the offseason. Cuban also believes the spirit of competition could bring out the best in the budding star, expecting a stronger and tougher version of the 6-foot-2 guard to compete with both Collison and Mayo for the bulk of the backcourt minutes.
“Roddy B.'s been working out, actually. He's been in the gym. I saw him just the other day,” Cuban explained. "He's taking boxing classes. I told Roddy and the folks around him, I said he's got to learn to throw a punch and take a punch. So, he's been taking some boxing classes. He's been working out; he's bigger, he's stronger. He's going to have a chance to compete, just like everybody.
"Once he got hurt, he didn't recover quite the way we had hoped, but I think that's in the past now and so he'll have every opportunity. We'll find out. We're not going to pre-judge. He's going to get a chance to play, and if he outplays O.J., he'll play instead of O.J. If he outplays Darren, he'll play instead of Darren. It's very Darwinian."
