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Boston Celtics’ fans were all smiles when they heard the news of their All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo being cleared for full court contact practice by the doctors. Following this development, many sports websites have predicted his return in January or February. Recovering from an ACL tear, he has been out for nearly 11 months.
Given the roster they had at their disposal after the busy off-season, the position of the C’s would be a pleasant surprise for their fans. They have looked competitive this season so far with a record of 11-14, sitting at the top of the Atlantic Division, and much of that has to do with neither of the New York teams living up to their pre-season hype.
Rondo’s return would not only impact the players on the floor, but how his return is presented by the franchise to the media would deeply impact the fans’ feelings and their reactions. With the current roster he is now undoubtedly the centre piece of the franchise after the departure of the Big 3 of Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce over the last two off-seasons.
Impact on the franchise:
Rondo shared in an interview that him and Brad Stevens have become really good friends
It has been five years since the Celtics last added a banner to the rafters at the TD Garden, and Rondo is the lone player from the championship team still with the franchise. He has only recently fully recovered from an ACL injury, but he carries the weight of the most decorated and richest franchises in NBA history.
So it goes without saying that he would have a huge say in how the franchise attempts to regain its lost glory. How the C’s finish the season would certainly decide how fast they can get back to the top of the Conference and compete in the playoffs, a position everyone is used to seeing them in.
He has changed his attitude, which in the past caused incidents like the feud with Ray Allen and the near physical fight with Doc Rivers. He has supported the new head coach Brad Stevens from day one and their relationship has shown hope of positive results to look forward to.
“Me and Brad have become best friends,” Rondo said at the Celtics media day. “We talk every day, we laugh and joke…He has my full support.”
A player who brings the same combination of Rondo’s quickness and agility along with his length and court vision is tough to find in the league. Danny Ainge, the president of basketball operations for the Celtics, has tracked his development and analysed his production and entrusted the future of the C’s in the hands of the young talented point guard.
Impact on the team:
The credit for the success of the team this season has been their defence; they rank 11th in the league in the defensive efficiency category. They restricted a Knicks offence at home to just 73 points; that’s got to say something about their D. Rondo’s defence at its best will take the team’s rank higher in that category but his primary business on the floor would be offence.
And Rondo is scary good on his business end. Last season he was the only player in the league to average double digit assists per game, with 11.1 – that’s only 7 less than what the C’s have averaged over the first 21 games this season (18.2). His offensive rating of 106 is nearly five points higher than the team’s offensive rating this season of 101.4.
Although the Celtics have won a 41-point game against the Knicks, their offence sits at the bottom half of the league, at the 23rd spot, with 99.6 points per 100 possessions. However, we could see that offensive rating go up with Avery Bradley and Jordan Crawford playing more minutes off-ball with Rondo on the court.
With their current performance and considering all that Rondo is capable of, the C’s, against all odds, might be able to capture the fourth spot this season and finish at the top of the Atlantic Division.
Impact on the fans:
Ainge and Rondo must not put their fans through what the Bulls fans experienced late last season when Derrick Rose was seen practising before games but failing to take the court until the start of the new season, no matter how big a hole the team was in.
Now that he has returned to practice, Rondo’s return will be much talked about. But what they must not do is to create a false sense of hope about the date of his return – this is something the Bulls did not do well at all. They left doubts in the fans’ minds way too long about Rose possibly returning the previous season.
The management has to be clear about when they want Rondo to return. When he does return, the Celtics would still be playing for nothing since they are going through their rebuilding process. So let’s say they grab a playoff spot on his return; that would be a fine way to further delay a project that was already started two years late.
On the flip side, the Rondo-less Celtics’ record of 11-14 is not great, but the rest of the Eastern Conference teams are even worse. So even if they do decide to sit Rondo out this season, they still might end up grabbing a playoff spot with a low lottery pick.
It’s going to be a really tough decision for the management to make a decision which would shorten their rebuilding period.
Rondo’s return would create nothing but a positive impact for the team on the court, although how much it would benefit the team in him making a January return is yet to be seen.
