Michael Dwyer - AP
Uncertain return date.
Rajon Rondo has missed the last 5 games with the hurt wrist that he injured on January 18th. That night Danny Ainge said "he's fine" and told us that the MRI was negative. That's all well and good, but when is he going to play again?
Rondo himself (who sometimes has a way of being coy with things like this) isn't exactly being clear on when he expects to be back. Here's his quote via CSNNE:
The point guard was vague about his expected return, offering, "I am going to play -- one day. Maybe like next -- hopefully before All-Star Break. That's my goal, to come back before All-Star. I'm going to try to get February, like my birthday, like before Oklahoma."
I think the general point he's trying to get across is "I'm not sure, but it could be another few weeks." But since I've got nothing better to do and this is what I do, let's (over)analyze this.
0 recs | 31 comments
No problem
I’m not gonna lose any sleep over this. In fact, it may be a blessing in disguise. Of course Rondo is the best player we have, but without him, we’re doing fine for the last 3 games. While he’s gone, Moore and Bradley will play more and gain more confidence. Which will help us in the long run. They’d definitely not get the amount of playing time they do right now if Rondo wasn’t injured.
dombili - January 28, 2012
+1
Celticsdude - January 28, 2012
i agree completely
CKgreen - January 28, 2012
Rondo needs to get healthy
Danny Ainge need to make 2 big trades while Rondo is out for a while. Trade E.Moore & A.Bradley to Sacramento for I.Thomas. Thomas is an athletic PG like Nate Robinson and know how to get to the basket like Rondo. Trade Wilcox,Dooling,Daniels,Pavlovic,Johnson, & 1st round pick to Houston for C.Budinger,T.Williams, & H.Thabeet. Sign Kenyon Martin for 3 years 7 million. Resign R.Wallace and E.House for 1 year. While Rondo out the C`s will be in the top 3 with these 8 new guys along with Bass,Pietrus, & Stiemsma and when he comes back the C`s are coming out the East because of team work and Ainge making great trades.
Wylon Chalk - January 28, 2012
I'd say they've been doing fine filling in with what they've got.
The young guys are getting more experience and Dooling is going to be back too.
If Bradley and Moore continue to play well, this bad break for Rondo, and to a degree for the team, could give Danny a couple more valuable chips for a strategic trade down the road—not some knee-jerk move for the short term.
clover - January 28, 2012
Ho ha he ho ha he he ha ho ha he ha ho ha ha he he ha ho
bbeingphilled - January 28, 2012 via mobile
i thomas?
why? we trade our first round pick last year and the number 55 pick this year for the number 60 pick? if we wanted him we could have had him
JuJuan some moore - January 28, 2012
dude that scenario u just described is the worst thing a gm could do.it makes no sense to bring in 8 new players to learn a new system in a sort period of time in a short season. That a recipe for disaster. just look at the perkins trade. Leave well alone and play out the season.They have some good games that would help them gel. Leave it be.
jeharry - January 28, 2012
agreeeeeeeeeee
celticsfaninsudan - January 29, 2012
um ... no.
mmmmm - January 28, 2012
Most fans' trade ideas are lateral on paper
… and so they’re really bad ideas, because though they may be “lateral on paper” (trading approximately equal talents on both sides) the extra burden of integrating new players is huge and fraught with (unnecessary) risks. And btw…. these particular trade suggestions don’t even rise to the level of lateral.
JR99 - January 28, 2012
The way Bradley and Moore are playing, it can only help the team come playoff time.
Let him get the needed recuperation while the rooks are forced into playing minutes they wouldn’t get otherwise.
The playoffs are when a healthy and confident team is going to be needed.
lygafe - January 28, 2012
Whatever the Celtic brass
and medical staff (who are these quacks?) say you need to multiply by a factor of 5-10. So day-to-day means 5-10 games (as I said originally). One month means an operation and out for the year.
Celtsfansince55 - January 28, 2012
ive lived in Cleveland, Chicago, Milwaukee, and Seattle and followed the teams closely in these areas
ive never seen any team in any sport act like the celtics medical staff has since Danny Ainge has been there.
still, sure let rondo sit as its the only way to guarantee Moore and Bradley develop quickly
wahz - January 28, 2012
makes sense to me
i jammed the hell out of both my wrists last november, and tried playing on them a couple weeks later. it was VERY uncomfortable. when i went to the doctor, there was no breaks, just borderline sprain. i ended up taking the rest of the year off, played the first week of january, and felt a lot better, but even now they don’t feel perfect. for what it’s worth, in my experience, a wrist can be tricky. if rondo’s injury is similar to mine (i fell off a motorcycle), he won’t feel completely ready for competition for a month and a half.
hapa17 - January 28, 2012
that said...
…i agree with dombili’s take: get bradley and moore more comfortable in the interim. this is valuable experience they would otherwise not get. and we now see, with a little more comfort, bradley can sway a game with his backcourt pressure and moore can bust from three. and heck, the celts play the lakers coming up…thank goodness their PGs are probably worse than our backups!
hapa17 - January 28, 2012
I also like the minutes for the young guys
But man Rondo could really shred the Lakers with their crappy guards and Kobe needing all of his energy for offense. Such a waste.
kg2128 - January 28, 2012
I curse Kleiza
for the dirty foul!
Karasu - January 28, 2012 via mobile
at least we know rondo wont be traded now
i dont think anyone is going to give us healthy rondo value so theres no reason to trade him now
JuJuan some moore - January 28, 2012
They play more like a team with rondo out, not all standing around watching him dribble. I think he needs a good portion of humble pie!
mdowell04 - January 28, 2012
they have this week
but it is not all on Rondo
the other starters have confidence he can “run the usual offense” and so they wait to do the usual patterns
and often end up fiddling, and then a jump shot. It is what they expect, and what is expected of Rondo
with Bradley or Moore, everyone knows the O bill break down, and everyone knows that they have to scramble, scratch and claw together or nothing good can happen
but should not underestimate the positive side of Bradley’s defense. Constant press has excited the D, and some rebounding
Frank Malzone - January 28, 2012
That is not all on him
They depend on him more because he is such a great playmaker, also Paul and KG were not ready conditioning wise when he was playing with them. Clearly KG and Pierce are getting better game by game both in conditioning and effectiveness. Look at it this way, even if you combined moore and bradley into 1 person Rondo is still better overall. Someone on one of the Celtics blogs analyzed Bradley’s defense vs Rondo. They are very close 1v1 defenders with Bradley getting a slight edge, but Rondo was much better as a team defender. Offensively he can’t shoot 3s like Moore but he is a much better passer and finisher at the rim.
kg2128 - January 28, 2012
7tony2
go boston go you are # 1
get well rondo
7tony2 - January 28, 2012
not surprising......
Day to day and not serious usually means about a month for Boston.
2-3 weeks refers to out for the season…. lol
LarryBird33 - January 28, 2012
Don't really understand why this team plays so many games with players' health
Don’t see any advantage to the team, but they do annoy the fan base with this nonsense. (Well…. at least one fan, anyway…. tho doubt I’m the only one.)
JR99 - January 28, 2012
maybe
when he comes back his shooting is comparable to Ray Allen. LOL!
elvyn - January 29, 2012
i like that hahahahaha
celticsfaninsudan - January 29, 2012
Rondo done for the remainder of season?
I hope that’s a joke…we need him come playoff time, like seriously.
SparzWizard - January 29, 2012
Meanwhile, Bradley and Moore get time to develop, both are improving each game..
cfan2 - January 29, 2012
I feared the injury may take longer to heal....
then the C’s originally let on it was going to take.
Seeing Rondo wear that cast was also a red flag that he may be out longer then originally expected.
Only bright spot of this Rondo injury is that it will open up very valuable playing time for Moore and Bradley, which will help them develop and grow as players.
fordescort - January 29, 2012
I just laugh at this stuff now
Danny says he is fine the night he got injured. If he misses 20 games, that is one-third of the season. Danny needs to not say anything about injuries until he has info. For those who think the team is better off without him, my guess is you will be singing a different tune soon.
vinnie - January 29, 2012
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