DALLAS -- Raymond Felton remained professional while riding the pine all season, waiting patiently for a chance to be part of the Dallas Mavericks rotation.

That opportunity appears to have finally arrived, although certainly not how Felton hoped it would.

Dallas will be without starting point guard Rajon Rondo for an extended period of time while he recovers from fractures to his nose and left orbital bone. That means Felton is likely to get consistent, meaningful minutes for the first time in a Mavs uniform.

“Rondo is a great friend of mine, so I hate the circumstances that he had to get hurt like that in order for me to get some time,” Felton said after Monday’s shootaround. “But things happen in the season. Guys have got to step up and be ready to play.

“I’ve been working hard for the last three months now, through the injury and since I got back. Just to get out there and get the opportunity to play and help this team out, of course I’m excited.”

A starter for most of his first nine seasons in the NBA, Felton has played a grand total of 64 minutes this season. He has a double-digit minute total in only one game, scoring 10 points and recording five assists in 29 minutes as a starter during last month’s road loss to the Denver Nuggets, when Rondo and two other starters rested on the second night of a back-to-back.

Felton, who arrived in Dallas this summer as the tax the Mavs had to pay to get center Tyson Chandler from the New York Knicks, suffered a serious high ankle sprain in the second preseason game and is still dealing with soreness in the ankle. But it’s pain that Felton says he can play through.

Coach Rick Carlisle declined to reveal who would replace Rondo in the starting lineup, but it’s unlikely to be Felton, who hasn’t played a second with that group all season.

Devin Harris has played 100 minutes with the starters, and the Mavs have outscored their opponents by 15 points in that time. J.J. Barea has played 24 minutes with that lineup, and the Mavs are plus-21 in that time.

Harris and Barea are both expected to see their minutes rise during Rondo’s recovery. The Mavs need Felton, who like Harris and Barea can play both guard positions, to be a quality fourth guard after essentially being a 12th man all season.

“I’ve just got to make sure nobody’s getting flooded with too many minutes,” Carlisle said. “That’s one of the challenges, because we’ve got to keep energy in the game. That’s one of the biggest things for us right now.”

There is minimal concern about how the Mavs will fare offensively with Rondo out. In fact, they have been better on that end of the floor without him than with him.

However, Rondo has been a massive upgrade defensively. Dallas, a below-average defensive team before Rondo’s arrival, has an elite defensive rating (98.7 points per 100 possessions) with Rondo on the floor.

That’s a challenge that Felton embraces.

“I’m going to bring a lot of energy because I haven’t been out there in so long,” said Felton, who has career averages of 13.0 points and 6.4 assists per game. “Just to get out there and get the opportunity, I’m excited about it.”