Rondo plays 3-on-3 before being cleared by doctor

TOMMY TOSCANNO
November 10, 2013, 6:45 pm

There's no telling when Rajon Rondo will return to the basketball court for the Boston Celtics this season.

And apparently, there's no telling Rondo himself when he can play in pickup games and scrimmages.

According to Celtics GM Danny Ainge speaking with the Boston Herald, Rondo took part in some 3-on-3 scrimmages a few weeks ago apparently against the direction of his doctors. But, he can play 1-on-1, and has been.

“He played 3-on-3 three weeks ago when he wasn’t supposed to,” said Ainge. “But I asked (the training staff) if it was OK for him to be playing one-on-one, and the answer was yes. Of course playing one-on-one is one thing. It doesn’t mean he’s ready to play to the NBA standard.”

Messing around with teammates in a 3-on-3 or 1-on-1 is nothing close to the actual physicality of an NBA game. The Celtics will not rush Rondo back, and honestly it's somewhat surprising to hear that he's being a bit risky in terms of his recovery by playing in those 3-on-3 games, although we don't know how serious they were.

Rondo will definitely want to make sure he's 100-percent ready to return to the NBA - both physically and mentally - if he wants to prove to the Celtics and the rest of the NBA that he deserves a max-player contract at the end of next season.

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No one should ever question Rondo's will nor his physical and mental toughness.

He's really itching to get back out there.



KJ