Boston Celtics: Rajon Rondo’s Team Ready To Surprise

Back in May, the NBA Draft Lottery revealed to the Boston Celtics that they’d be granted the sixth overall pick on the June 26 draft. This marked a major milestone in the Celtics rebuilding process, but not nearly the end-all to their issues as a team recovering from major personnel losses.

Danny Ainge made his selection, going with Marcus Smart — the 6’4” point guard out of Oklahoma State University, built like Russell Westbrook and maybe just as aggressive on the court.

All summer long, winds of rumor and speculation began to blow, leaving fans wondering if this draft selection meant the end of Rajon Rondo’s time with Boston. Or would they look to trade Smart to add a more established piece alongside Rondo?

Now, with an injured Rondo and training camp coming to a close, it’s clear that both Danny Ainge and Brad Stevens like what they have at the guard position. News recently began to surface that Rondo could potentially expedite the 6-8 week recovery process, and even grace the floor on opening night when the Brooklyn Nets come to town.

Neither Rondo nor Stevens could say for sure, but both left the idea on the table that the star point guard doesn’t miss any time to start the year.

Speaking with ESPN Boston’s Chris Forsberg and other media at the Celtics’ Waltham practice facility, Rondo elaborated on the status of his injury: “It doesn’t bother me at all when I dribble the ball, catch the ball,” Rondo said. “But it’s night and day from trying to brace myself hitting the floor or going into the lane and somebody smacks my hand.”

Sounds like a fairly positive prognosis. And coincidentally, with 2014-15 season just one week from tip-off, the Celtics locker room seems to have tapped into an apparent wealth of positivity.

Speaking with David Aldridge for NBA.com, Rondo made some positive remarks about his head coach:

"“He’s the most positive coach I’ve ever been around in my career. It’s hard not to want to play as hard as you can for a guy that shows it every day, not just in the locker room, but off the court, with his family. He’s a great man and he’s a great role model. That’s a prime example of a great leader. He’s very consistent in what he does. He’s all about the team. He wants us to play very hard and he wants us to win.”"

Extremely encouraging, borderline-sappy words from the Celtics point guard. Talk about a huge step in the right direction if a second-year coach can garner that kind of respect from his team’s most important player.

Live Feed

Hardwood Houdini

Rondo continued in-depth into Brad Stevens’ love for advanced statistics, how he delves into all kind of metrics that help him analyze his team. But for Rondo and the rest of the team, Stevens’ most important attribute is something different.

"“I think the thing for any successful team is to buy in. He has us all believing in what his plan is. If we continue to do that, I think we’re going to surprise a lot of people.”"

A coach that can convince his team to buy in, after finishing the 2013-14 season with a 25-57 recond, is a massive success for the front office and ownership. The Boston Celtics undoubtedly have the right man for the job, and that’s one of the most important pieces of a rebuilding process.

As far as Rondo’s statement goes, it remains to be seen what kind of surprising they can do in 2014-15. The good news is that it wouldn’t take much to surprise people. 25 wins in a year in which Rajon Rondo was limited to just 30 games means there is almost nowhere to go but up.

The Celtics no doubt improved in the offseason by adding Marcus Smart and James Young via the draft. They added a big man in Tyler Zeller, and a scorer in Marcus Thornton. They signed Evan Turner as an all-purpose forward off the bench. Jeff Green is back at 100 percent health, and Jared Sullinger is blossoming into a very legitimate NBA power forward.

I would have to agree with Mr. Rondo here. His team has already won four preseason games together, with only Cleveland and Toronto winning more games. Sure they’re still in a rebuild phase. But they’ve bolstered their bench and have a coach at the helm that the entire roster believes in. The Boston Celtics can and will surprise people in 2014-15.