Rondo Cleared For Practice

http://www.celticsblog.com/2013/12/14/5210510/rondo-cleared-for-practice-but-wont-play-games-untill-january


The news that we've been waiting to hear all year has arrived. Rajon Rondo has been cleared by Dr. James Andrews for full contact in practice.

Chris Forsberg @ESPNForsberg
Follow
Rondo met with Dr. Andrews yesterday. Cleared for full contact in practice. Still not expected back in games until January.
10:20 AM - 14 Dec 2013


We're still a couple of weeks away from seeing him on the court in games, but that's ok. I'm just glad that he's on the right track.

Scott Souza @scott_souza
Follow
#Celtics coach Brad Stevens stressed no timetable for Rajon Rondo's game return - lot of variables - but in wide general terms within month.
10:23 AM - 14 Dec 2013


Allow me to take a moment to rant a bit here. I'm seeing more and more fans' of other teams on twitter making trade proposals or comments about getting Rondo via trade as if he's on the block or something. I even saw a Laker fan dismiss an idea of a Pau trade for Rondo because Rondo isn't playing yet. As if Rondo has to prove himself on the court to garner the privilege of taking on an old, breaking down, formerly great center.

This will of course fall on deaf ears, but I implore them to just stop it. Rondo's not on the block. He doesn't want to go anywhere. He's (bay all accounts) fully on board with the process and he's the centerpiece to our rebuild - and has been for years now. The only way he's headed out of town is if another star in his prime is headed back into town. You aren't buying low on Rondo, it won't happen. Save it.

Again, that message will never be read by the people that need to read it and if they do they'll dismiss it. So kind of pointless in the long run, but it sure did feel good to write.

Rondo's on his way back. That's all that matters right now. Looking forward to seeing him on the court again soon.



bob
MY NOTE: I'm ok with him taking another couple of weeks before he plays, not only to build up strength and timing, but also to be able to integrate into this team with a minimum amount of disruption of chemistry.

To say this is good news doesn't quite cut it. You know what this is? This is "Brad Stevens wins Coach of the Year" news because that's what Rondo's return will do for this team, it will be reflected in our record and Stevens will receive his fair share of the credit for it.



.

Rajon Rondo cleared for full contact

By Chris Forsberg | ESPNBoston.com

WALTHAM, Mass. -- Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo should return to game action next month, according to coach Brad Stevens.

Rondo traveled Friday with team physician Dr. Brian McKeon to meet with operating surgeon Dr. James Andrews, who examined Rondo's progress and cleared him to return to full-contact practice activities.

More on the Celtics

Keep on top of the Green throughout the season with ESPNBoston.com's Chris Forsberg. Blog

• Send Chris a question

The Celtics threw Rondo into the fire on Saturday, engaging in a spirited 45-minute session despite coming off game action on Friday night.

"[Rondo] had a good trip [Friday], as far as getting good news, and it looks like he's on schedule to be closer, but still probably doesn't look like we're going to see him on the court any time this month," said Stevens. "Hopefully as we get into January, he'll be closer."

Rondo underwent ACL surgery in mid-February, about two weeks after initially tearing the ligament. He's been able to engage in limited-contact activities recently, including games of 1-on-1 and 2-on-2 with teammates, but needed Andrews' clearance to dive back into 5-on-5, full-contact activities.

How did Rondo look in his first full practice back?

"Pretty good," Stevens said with a sly smile.

Celtics teammate Brandon Bass said Rondo "looked good."

"He looked solid," Bass said.

As for how he'll reintegrate Rondo, Stevens said he hasn't considered it too much before this point.

"I haven't thought a ton about it, because it really hasn't presented itself and it still isn't going to present itself in the very, very near future," said Stevens. "My focus is on what we can do on Monday [when the Timberwolves visit TD Garden]. Certainly, you're thinking about how you're going to, not only get him into it, [and] ease him into it, but how you're going to manage everything around that. Because there's a lot of good players that are playing at a high level, and the key is to continue those guys playing really well and add in another very good player."

Stevens hesitated to offer a firm timeline on when Rondo might return to the court.

"He won't play in games, is what I've been told, until after the first of the year," said Stevens. "And that still is, we're talking in big generalities there. I don't know when that means. It could mean a month from now, it could mean six weeks from now. There's a lot of different variables that have to be met for him to be cleared for games."

The Celtics currently sit atop the Atlantic Division with an 11-14 record.

112288

Good news, as long as he proceeds with caution. Actually, the player I believe will feel more pressure upon Rondo's return is Jordan Crawford. Crawford has done a pretty good job (aside from the most recent game) at focusing full-time on being a floor general and ball distributor (as well as scoring at a good clip). Now he'll have to adjust to doing that job a minority of his time on the court and playing SG a majority of his time on the court.

Regardless of the fact that he's more naturally a SG than a PG, having had to concentrate so fiercely on the PG function has naturally developed tendencies that will require changes on his part. He's been described as versatile. Now we'll get to see how really versatile he can be.

Sam

I think Jordan will excel once Rondo takes the brunt of the load at PG. It'll relieve pressure.



KJ

KJ,

I hope you're right. It could be argued that having playmaking responsibilities was a sort of self-regulating fix for his questionable shooting decisions of the past. If he now becomes primarily a shooter once again, will he still exercise better decision-making?

Sam

I went back about 7-8 pages to see the post about initial projects for Rondo's return. Seems like for the most part we were on the right track with our guessing.



KJ