Brad Stevens updates Rajon Rondo's rehab, says he'll be back in Boston soon


 Brad Stevens took part in the Deutsche Bank Pro-Am golf tournament on Thursday, and while at the event, talked a little about the upcoming season. Among the questions asked (answers via the Herald's Tom Layman):

Q: 'who's already in Boston working out?'

A: 'Faverani, Olynyk, Brooks, Bradley, Pressey, Sullinger'

Q: 'what do you think of Vitor Faverani?'

A: "I like Vitor. I think he’s a hard worker. I think he’s a diligent person. He cares about his job and I like him."

And finally, the most important question, how's Rajon Rondo doing? First, here's Layman's quotes directly from his twitter account.









Ok so he's working hard and the staff is meeting with him. That's nice and all, but not exactly breaking news. However, the Worcester Telegram's Bill Doyle had this little tidbit, in which Stevens says that Jared Sullinger's "hopefully Rondo will be back in December" comment from earlier this week isn't exactly true.



December would mark 10 months after Rondo's surgery, slightly below the average recovery time of 9 months. Opening night on the other hand is 8 1/2 months after surgery, a realistic, but slightly ambitious goal. I know that a lot of people have thrown around the idea that Rondo's return should be delayed because the Celtics will not be very good this year. But I don't think that's realistic. Rondo is a world class athlete, and more than likely will return as soon as he is medically cleared. Derrick Rose is the exception to the rule in that regards.

Now I'm not saying that Rondo's a lock to be back October 30th, just that if the doctors clear him, expect him to play. Iman Shumpert made it back in 8 1/2 months and is guy who relies on lateral quickness just like Rondo. So there's definite hope that he's good to go on opening night.

Of course, Stevens comments could simply be an effort to throw the media off the scent. Nothing is gained from giving the Celtics first 20 opponents the advantage of knowing that Rondo will not be suiting up, so it makes sense to be as vague as possible as we approach camp.

Follow Mike on twitter - Mike_Dyer13

 h/t Jay King and Mark Vandeusen for finding the quotes

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