When Rajon Rondo, the point guard for the Boston Celtics, was diagnosed with a fractured left hand, the player was written off for the early part of the campaign. The injury was supposed to keep the player out for 6 to 8 weeks, and with the injury coming as the Celtics were stepping up their pre-season training, most people around the club believed that they would be without the player for a considerable period of time.
There has been a change in attitude of late though and coach Brad Stevens has said that there is a chance that the player will be available for selection on the opening week of the season. Rondo received good news last week at a re-evaluation showed that there has been considerable progress made by the player. However, he has not yet received clearance for contact play and with the Celtics starting their campaign on the 29th of October, against the Brooklyn Nets; time may be running out for the player.
Rondo has only been injured for three weeks
Given that Rondo only suffered the injury three weeks ago; the bone is unlikely to have fully healed just yet. This stands alongside the information that has been provided by the club when they stated that there would be a period of 6 to 8 weeks needed for a full recovery to be made. However, it seems as though there is hope that there may be a chance for Rondo to play, with the player responding to questions about whether he can play in the opening game of the season by saying;
I don’t know. I still haven’t had any contact yet. The opener is a little bit over a week away. I don’t want to set goals; I just want to go as my hand heals.
It is expected that the player will be cleared for contact in the next couple of days, and then it will depend on how comfortable the player feels. Some players are not at their best dealing with the psychological impact of playing with an injury and there will be a need for Rondo to show that he can handle the ball and dribble as normal. The player has intimated that he can catch and dribble as normal but these aren’t the things that the player needs to focus on. The main issue is what sort of impact will have a fall to the floor or hitting the lane have on the injury and this may be the factor that decides whether Rondo is able to play in the opening game of the campaign.
The NBA will have to approve of specialist padding
If the player wears specialist padding, it will need to be approved by the league, and this seems to be the aspect that Stevens is pinning his hopes on. If the player is willing to play and the league has no issues with the padding that is worn, you can expect Rondo to be in and around the opening match for Boston, and this will just mean that the speculation around the player will switch to a different matter.
There has been a great deal of trading rumours and speculation surrounding Rondo in recent weeks and months, and this isn’t going to go away just because he is playing with an injury. There is a lot of talk that the player will soon become available and with no rumours of an agreement of a deal with the Celtics in the offing, the clock could be ticking on the players career in Boston.
At 3-1 down in the NBA Finals, many people predicted that the Cleveland Cavaliers would lie down, perhaps looking for the pain to be over and done with for another year. After all, they were facing the record breakers, the team that had shown themselves to be the best of the best by a good...