ESPN

NEWPORT, R.I. -- Point guard Rajon Rondo went through a non-contact, morning walkthrough as the Boston Celtics opened training camp on Tuesday, then rehabbed on his own while (vocally) observing the team’s full-contact afternoon session.

That should remain the plan as the Celtics navigate three days of double sessions at the Rodgers Recreation Center on the campus of Salve Regina University. Rondo is working his way back from ACL surgery in mid-February and has hinted he won't return to game action until December.

“He went through the morning workout and he’s probably going to do one workout per day,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “Then he took the afternoon off, but he was very active in the afternoon. He was in the huddle, he was in the drills as far as communicating. You saw him leading our stretching at the end, he was really active today.”

Rondo took the captain-like position in the center of Boston’s post-practice stretch at midcourt following the afternoon session, then was one of the last players out of the gym -- herding his teammates as they caught the bus back to the team hotel.

The Celtics engaged in a 50-minute, untaped, non-contact session in the morning with a focus on offensive drills. The team reconvened in the afternoon for a 90-minute session heavy on defense and competitive drills.

As for Rondo’s morning workout, Stevens noted, “He’s doing shooting drills, he’s moving. We’re not doing anything defensively, so there’s not a lot of lateral movement there. But he’s doing everything else, and he works out with our strength and conditioning people and does his rehab. From everything I know, that’s all part of his rehab.”

Celtics second-year forward Jared Sullinger, who is also working his way back from February surgery, said Rondo’s leadership was a constant presence on the floor on Tuesday.

“Honestly, he’s been the eyes of the team for many years and he’s still the eyes,” Sullinger said. “He sees what we don’t see and he’s constantly talking to us. Even though he’s not playing, he’s coaching for us. He’s a big-time help.

Pressed on that vocal leadership, Sullinger added, “Second practice, he’s just saying what we sees as far as screening angles, what type of options you have. He’s always in the guards’ ears, telling them what to do. I think as a player of his caliber and his IQ, it really helps everyone else develop even though he’s not playing.”

And how did Rondo look in the morning session?

“Honestly, he moves better every day,” Sullinger said. “Every day he gets more comfortable, every day mentally he gets more comfortable. Obviously, compared to last year, Rondo was in tip-top shape and he had two knees. But right now, he’s working hard to get back.”

WALTHAM, Mass. -- After the Boston Celtics named Brad Stevens their new head coach in July, the immediate (over)reaction from some observers was to wonder how he would possibly coexist with strong-willed point guard Rajon Rondo.

Rondo is too stubborn, they cried. He won't listen to a 36-year-old coach, they barked.

Three months later, as the Celtics ushered in the 2013-14 season with Media Day on Monday at the team's training facility, Rondo went out of his way to highlight the relationship that already has built between him and his new coach, noting that Stevens already has suggested books for him to read and emails him YouTube videos to watch.

"Me and Brad have become best friends," Rondo said. "We talk every day, we laugh and joke, we just had dinner the other night. I’m going to help him, he’s going to help me. He has my full support and I told him from Day 1 when he came to my [summer] camp [in Louisville in July for their first in-person meeting], I'm 100 percent behind him."

Rondo chuckled when told that some had wondered if the two could work together and noted how Stevens arrived at his Kentucky camp with no preconceived notions, just a desire for the two to lead the Celtics together.

"His communication lines have been great with me, ever since he became the coach," Rondo said. "He came to my camp the following week, or the same week he was hired. We spent some time together, about an hour and a half down at Kentucky. And ever since then he’s been texting me, he’s given me a couple books to read, he’s emailed me some things I should look up on YouTube. We’ve had lunch. We’ve had great communication so far.

"It was important for both of us to get off to a good start to get to know one another. This is his team, this is my team. Like I said, I’m very supportive of him, and he’s been very supportive of me."

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WALTHAM, Mass. -- Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo was shuttling through the various media day stations Monday when he spotted an assistant coach with a football on the balcony outside the office of president of basketball operations Danny Ainge.

Instinctively, he called for the pass, caught the ball in stride and playfully powered through a reporter on his way off the court.

To the uninitiated, Rondo sure looked like his old self. And after a partially torn ACL ended his season in late January, there were whispers that he would try to make an Adrian Peterson-like recovery and be back on the floor for the start of the 2013-14 campaign. That would have been an aggressive nine-month timeline.

Speaking to reporters for one of the first times since his mid-February surgery, Rondo said he'll be back this season but is taking the process slowly and making sure he's mentally ready first.

He is now participating in basketball-related activities, and will do such when the team opens training camp on Tuesday in Newport, R.I., but he has not been cleared for contact.

One week after Ainge suggested a potential December return for Rondo -- then quickly backed off any timeline talk -- Rondo coyly hinted at a similar December target.

Asked when he plans to return, Rondo quipped, "the 2013-2014 season."

Pressed on that vague timeline, he offered, "Probably sometime in the winter. Maybe the fall."

Winter officially begins Dec. 21.

Rondo said he has chatted with numerous players from multiple sports who have endured the same surgery and rehab, including former Patriots receiver Wes Welker. He also understands that every surgery and every rehab is different and pledged to return to the court only when he is mentally ready, something that new Celtics coach Brad Stevens has echoed since their first meeting in July.

"When I'm mentally ready, I'll play," Rondo said. "Until you go through this type of injury -- a lot of people gave Derrick Rose a lot of heat about not playing, or whatever the case may be -- this injury isn't easy. It's more mental when you come back, and you get around 10-11 months, it's just feeling confident. You want to feel confident, especially the type of players and competitors we are.

"Our legs are pretty much everything, we use our speed; [Rose is] very athletic, I'm athletic. And you need that mental aspect to go up and jump and come down without thinking about your leg again. Because the last jump, for myself and him, we've come down and torn our ACL. Just being mentally ready -- when I get there, I'll play."

Later Rondo noted he'd return when "I feel confident, and I don't think about [the injury], just go out there and play. Even when my knee is going to get hit, or I have to go through a screen, when I don't think about that part of the game with my knee, during the game, I'll be fine. I'll be ready to go."

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BOSTON -- Though the majority of the subject matter at the breakfast meeting was his old arena, college hoops, new Celtics coach Brad Stevens wasn’t getting away Thursday morning without addressing the issue that’s first and foremost on many Celtics fans’ minds as training camp approaches.

Where is Rajon Rondo in his rehab from ACL surgery?

“You really didn’t think I was gonna let this get done without asking,” ESPN’s Jeff Goodman, the event emcee, joked with Stevens. “I’m not just gonna ask how’s he's doing, but where is he at with his rehab right now?”

After first thanking the audience for attending the event, the second annual Coaches vs. Cancer Tip-Off Breakfast to raise money for the Coaches vs. Cancer program, Stevens obliged.

“Rondo is progressing well,” he said in the Legends suite at TD Garden. “He’s in the gym, he’s working. He’s been great at what he can do. He has not been cleared to do everything, and it looks like that'll be a little bit of time before he is.

“Has the date been determined? No. Does it look like he’ll be there at the start of the season? No. But he is in the gym and when he is in the gym, people are that much better because I think he’s just got a way about him that makes everyone else rise up. And that’s been a really important thing for us and he’s been great so far.”

Coaches vs. Cancer is a joint program between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches, aimed at utilizing the platform of college basketball to increase awareness of cancer, to raise money for research and to promote healthy living.

All seven Division I coaches from Massachusetts -- Boston College’s Steve Donahue, Boston University’s Joe Jones, Harvard’s Tommy Amaker, Holy Cross’ Milan Brown, Northeastern’s Bill Coen, UMass-Amherst’s Derek Kellogg and UMass-Lowell’s Pat Duquette -- took part in this year’s event.

The wide-ranging question-and-answer session led by Goodman touched on many issues facing college hoops, including an earlier start to practice for most teams this season (the Ivy League excluded), the effects of football-driven realignment on hoops leagues, the challenges of recruiting and what exactly goes into building a college basketball schedule.

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Jack McCluskey is an editor for ESPN.com and a frequent contributor to ESPNBoston.com. Follow him on Twitter @jack_mccluskey.

MILTON, Mass. -- Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said he'd be "shocked" if Rajon Rondo was ready for the start of the regular season in late October and hinted that an early December return is more likely for the All-Star point guard.

Rondo underwent surgery in mid-February to repair a partially torn ACL. While the team initially set an aggressive timeline in hopes of having him ready for opening night, Ainge hesitated to offer any firm return date and said the team will now take it slow with Rondo.

"We’ve just seen examples of why we shouldn’t give dates of expected return," said Ainge, likely with a nod toward two recent high-profile ACL rehabs in Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III and Derrick Rose. "We’ll just take it week by week and he’ll continue to get evaluated, but he’s working extremely hard, and he wants to play. He’s excited for the new team. I think there was a time when all of [Boston's offeseason moves were] happening that he was sort of wondering, ‘Where do I fit in here?’ ‘What’s our team?’ But I think Rajon is in a very good place right now."

During an appearance on Boston sports radio 98.5 the SportsHub before the Shamrock Foundation's sixth annual Teeing up For Kids Golf Tournament at Wollaston Golf Club, Ainge guessed an early December return for Rondo, but stressed later that there is no firm timeline.

"I don’t think we would ever succumb to the pressure of bringing back a player from an ACL too soon," said Ainge. "We’ve got to do what’s right for him. He’s young -- maybe if he was 37 and it was his last year, but he’s still so young. And he’s our best player. We can’t afford to make any mistakes and judgment on when to bring him back."

Pressed on if Rondo could be back for opening night, Ainge offered, "I would be shocked."

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Rajon Rondo will almost certainly be the next captain of the Boston Celtics and his ability to help the team navigate this rebuilding process could define him as a leader:

The start of NBA free agency truly is Christmas in July. But sorry, Celtics fans, after years of pretty presents, it's most likely coal this year.

It's not your fault, even if we have gotten a little spoiled in these parts by all the success of our sports teams. This is just the way it goes during rebuilding. You have to try to save those pennies for a couple of Julys, right some of the wrongs you made at the start of NBA summers past and hope to dive back into the big-name sweepstakes sooner rather than later.

Last July 1, Doc Rivers made Jason Terry his first phone call, trying to recruit the veteran sixth man who the team thought would certainly cure its longstanding bench anemia. The Celtics loaded up knowing full well that the 2012-13 campaign might be the last run for a veteran core led by Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, throwing three years and $15.7 million at the now 35-year-old guard. Terry tattooed a Celtics leprechaun spinning the Larry O'Brien trophy on his arm and immediately endeared himself to the region; maybe he can use some of the 7.5 percent trade kicker that Boston will soon pay him to aid the removal.

This year? The Celtics don't even have a coach to make recruiting pitches. Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge is more likely to call a rival general manager about a deal than try to sweet-talk a big-name free agent.

Terry is just the latest of Boston's mid-level misfires (Jermaine O'Neal, Rasheed Wallace and Chris Wilcox before him). Alas, as an over-the-cap team, the Celtics have often been at the mercy of their few exceptions in hopes of giving their veteran core a boost.

Now, as the Celtics simply count the days before a blockbuster swap that will send Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Terry to Brooklyn can be officially completed, the team is more likely to examine the trade market while trying to unclog cap constraints with the goal of overhauling its roster as quickly as possible.

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WALTHAM, Mass. -- Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said Tuesday that no decisions have been made about the futures of Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.

While acknowledging a rebuilding process looms -- and it might have contributed to coach Doc Rivers roaming west and signing on as the next head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers -- Ainge said he wasn’t sure if this summer would usher in a full-blown roster overhaul for Boston.

“I’m anxious to go through the [rebuilding] process,” Ainge admitted. “We don’t know when that’s going to happen, if that’s going to happen this summer or if that’s going to happen next summer. We’ve been ready, we’ve been gearing up for that possibility.

After allowing Rivers out of the final three years of his contract to pursue the Clippers coaching vacancy, the assumption has been that Boston might be as tempted as ever to turn over its roster. It’s likely that decision ultimately hinges on what the Celtics can fetch for their aging stars this summer.

“I love Paul and KG and we haven’t made that decision yet,” Ainge said when asked if he wanted to bring both players back. “KG’s under contract, and Paul we have an option on in five days from now, and those are very big decisions for us. But those decisions, I’m not certain about either one of those.”

Initial trade discussions with the Clippers included a potential secondary swap that would have sent Garnett to Los Angeles in exchange for DeAndre Jordan. The league shot the idea down, noting its connection to Rivers’ hiring in L.A. made it look as if the teams were circumventing the collective bargaining agreement, which states that no trade can be contingent upon another exchange between teams.

Sources confirmed to ESPN that the league has told the teams that they cannot make any subsequent trades until after the 2013-14 season because of the Rivers’ deal, essentially squashing any chance Garnett ends up in L.A. (at least not without being waived).

The Celtics would have to find another destination for the 37-year-old Garnett, who also owns a no-trade clause.

Boston is on the hook for only $5 million next season if Pierce is waived before June 30. But sources indicated the team is willing to stomach the entire $15.3 million due in the final year of his deal while exploring trade options with the goal of acquiring a first-round pick. Those sources also noted that the Cavaliers and Bucks were among the interested suitors for Pierce, but the Celtics were willing to work with their captain to get him to a contender if they did part ways.

Ainge noted the futures of Pierce and Garnett are not tied to each other, nor the departure of Rivers.

“From my perspective, none of the decisions have anything to do with the other,” Ainge said.

Like every good team, the Boston Celtics will enter the offseason with multiple plans of attack based on how the summer unfolds. Unlike past years, however, deciding which initial outline is Plan A isn't quite as easy to determine. The Celtics have plenty of options -- and that's not necessarily a good thing -- as each sketch has its pitfalls and promise.

While there was much more roster uncertainty last summer, at least in terms of the amount of unrestricted free agents, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge was adamant that re-signing Kevin Garnett was Plan A, and the team was able to hit the ground running when Garnett inked a three-year extension before the start of free agency.

This year? You can believe Ainge when he says he's not really sure which direction the team is headed. An early playoff exit makes it an extra long crawl to the NBA draft later this month, which serves as the sort of unofficial start of roster construction for the 2013-14 season.

Over the next month, we'll hear an endless amount of speculation about which direction the Celtics might be leaning -- like the out-of-town report this week that suggested the Celtics were ready to buy out Paul Pierce -- but the truth of the matter is that it's a fluid situation, and all Ainge can do at this point is gather information about potential moves and be ready to activate his plan of choice when the moment arrives.

There seems to be four main scenarios in play this offseason:

• Keep the band together: Minimal changes, bank on health
• Goodbye, captain: Roster tweaked with Pierce departure
• Out with the old: Moving on without both KG and Pierce
• Complete teardown: Extreme makeover: Celtics edition

Over the next four days, we'll take a closer look at each possible option, gauge the potential for it to occur, determine some moves that might go along with it, and debate whether it's the best course of attack. First up: We're putting the band back together.

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Boston Celtics point guard -- and style expert -- Rajon Rondo will appear on E!'s Fashion Police Friday night at 10 p.m. EST. Here's part of the press release on the appearance:

SPRING FEVER is in full effect this week on the set of “Fashion Police.” Basketball star and Boston Celtic team member, Rajon Rondo, and “Arrested Development” actress Jessica Walter stop by to visit with Joan and her panel of style experts—Kelly Osbourne, Giuliana Rancic and George Kotsiopoulos—for a Friday night of fashion fun. The stylish pro athlete talks about his personal fashion sense and plays “Stash It or Trash It” with a much beloved coat pulled straight out of his closet, while Jessica plays everyone’s favorite “Man Candy” game. Check out Rajon, Jessica, and the stylish bunch on Friday, May 24, 2013 at 10 PM ET/PT only on E!

Rondo, who interned for GQ and is no stranger to bold fashion choices, is rehabbing from ACL surgery in February.

After the Boston Celtics' 2012-13 campaign met an untimely end, we've busted out our red pens and assigned grades to each player based on their individual performances this season. This is the eighth in a series of end-of-the-season report cards:

Player: Rajon Rondo
2012-13 averages: 13.7 ppg, 11.1 apg, 5.6 rpg, 37.4 mpg, 48.4 FG%, 24 3PT%
2012-13 salary: $11 million

Season in a paragraph: Rondo appeared in only 38 games after tearing his ACL during an overtime loss in Atlanta in late January. His season didn't lack for drama in the short time Rondo was on the court. A polarizing double-digit assist streak got snapped when Rondo got in a post-whistle dust-up with Kris Humphries after a hard foul on teammate Kevin Garnett. Rondo endured a two-game suspension for his actions and later got tagged with a one-game ban for bumping an official in early January. Along the way, Rondo showed a more consistent midrange shot (shooting 48 percent) and improved his free throw percentage a bit, but struggled with defensive consistency and couldn't quite jumpstart a sluggish Boston offense.

Season highlight: This is never an easy task with Rondo. Like assists? He handed out 20 helpers twice in his first nine games of the season while adding 13 games to his double-digit assist streak that started during the 2011-12 campaign (and ultimately tied John Stockton for the second longest span at 37 games before his early ejection against the Nets). Prefer triple-doubles? Rondo had five more of those this season, including in each of his final two games of the season (though Boston was just 2-3 in those games).

Season lowlight: Rondo and coach Doc Rivers came under some scrutiny for a bit of stat-chasing at the end of a lopsided loss in Detroit in mid-November. Rondo needed some late-game floor time to reach 10 helpers in a 103-83 loss to the Pistons that dropped Boston to a 6-5 on the season (Rondo also had six turnovers in the game). While Rivers and Rondo often downplayed the streak, it clearly did matter to them and chasing some late-game assists wasn't a good look while getting throttled by a team with just one win in its first 10 tilts.

Final grade: C+

Teacher's notes: Nothing spoke more to Rondo's value than the way the team struggled without him, particularly offensively in the playoffs. But the stats show a team that was still stagnant even with him. The Celtics owned an offensive rating -- points per 100 possessions -- of 99.2 with Rondo on the court and that number actually jumped up three points without him. Rondo was minus-57 in plus/minus for the season, while the Celtics were plus-39 without him. What gives? Rondo didn't have a particularly efficient offensive season in his 38 games. While his mid-range shooting blossomed and his field-goal percentage rebounded from a poor 2011-12 campaign, Rondo still struggled to generate consistent offense. According to Synergy Sports data, Rondo averaged 0.796 points per play, ranking in just the 23rd percentile among all league players (an uptick in turnovers played a large part in that diminished number as Rondo's turnover ratio was the highest since his rookie season). Maybe most concerning was Rondo's transition numbers, where he averaged just 0.864 points per play and ranked in the 11th percentile (as leader of the break, he has to be better at finishing in those situations). Defensively, Rondo's Synergy numbers were much glossier (0.777 points per play, 86th percentile), but in the same way his offense was better than the stats might suggest, his defense was worse than the numbers tell. Rondo allowed too much dribble penetration and clearly missed Avery Bradley for the first 30 games of the season (while Bradley rehabbed from double shoulder surgery). The bottom line is that the Celtics need more from Rondo if he's going to be their centerpiece player and it will be interesting to see what he gleaned from a half-season on the sidelines.

What's next?: Rondo has two years remaining on his contract and will earn $12 million next season (still a bargain of a deal). Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge remains steadfast that Rondo is on pace to return for training camp after undergoing ACL surgery in February, but that's an aggressive timeline and -- as Derrick Rose showed -- there's no guarantees with ACL injuries. But after all their woes offensively, both generating points and simply getting into their sets and handling pressure, the Celtics will be relieved to get their All-Star point guard back. Make no mistake, the Celtics were not better without Rondo; but they can be better than they were when they did have him at the start of the year and it starts with getting more out of him.

Honor roll: Click HERE to read past report cards.

Don't agree with teacher? Just want to sound off on Rondo's 2012-13 season? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

With the Boston Celtics on the brink of playoff elimination, allow this to serve as your annual reminder to savor what could possibly be the final time Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett share the Garden floor together.

I know, I know. We've been here before in each of the past few seasons. But last year we saw the end of the Big Three era when Ray Allen defected to rival Miami. With each passing season, it seems the likelihood of a potentially larger roster overhaul grows. Maybe more so this season, given that these Celtics are on the verge of being swept out of the first round of the playoffs after a season plagued by injuries and inconsistencies.

Antennas are further heightened after Garnett and Pierce, along with Rajon Rondo, huddled in the shower area inside the team's locker room at TD Garden for a lengthy confab after a Game 3 loss to the New York Knicks on Friday night put Boston in an 0-3 hole.

Was it a gabfest about how the Celtics could pull off the biggest comeback in NBA history? Or was it a trip down memory lane for a championship trio that knew it might never share that sort of moment again?

Neither Pierce nor Garnett was available to the media during Saturday's off-day availability. Both did speak after Game 3 and weren't overly maudlin, keeping the focus on what went wrong and how to reverse the momentum of the series in Sunday's Game 4.

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Quick hits following Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge's weekly appearance on Boston sports radio WEEI (93.7 FM) Thursday.

On whether he expects Kevin Garnett to be limited, physically, in Friday's Game 3: "No, listen, I think KG expects to be at his best tomorrow night. I don't know, he looked good in practice (Thursday), he's moving well, and I expect KG to be good (Friday)."

On whether not having a true point guard is hurting the Celtics right now: "I think those are just excuses. We've known this. We've been preparing for the playoffs for a few months. I think that we have what we have and we've got to do the best with it. I guess that right now I just don't think that we've played like we were capable of playing. I mean, it's one thing to lose to a team that deserves to beat you and is a better team. But I feel like we've come out ready to play, and for whatever reason, I have no idea, but the beginning of the third quarter in the last two games has not been good."

On whether the Celtics are unsure of what plays to run without Rajon Rondo: "Well we've had an opportunity to play a lot of games without Rondo. But, listen, if you just look around, this has been going on for 30 years. It's no secret. Great players at this time really step it up and our guy that was our best player last year in the playoffs, a guy that had 44 at Miami, that got us to the position that we were, that has been the MVP of multiple playoff series over the last handful of years -- not just playoff games, but playoff series -- he's a guy that's certainly capable of being the best guy on the court on any given night. He's a terrific player and we certainly miss him. We've been saying that all year long."

Pressed on whether the Celtics are unsure of what plays to run without Rondo: "Right, but, you know, I think that that's a little blown out of proportion, just because, hey, we had these same challenges before. I mean, losing double-figure leads in the fourth quarter of games is not something that has just happened. This has been going on for three or four years and I wish I knew. Sometimes I think we put such an effort and emphasis on defense that our guys don't have the energy to keep cutting and moving and so forth without the ball in the fourth quarter. I don't know what it is, but it's not just a Rondo issue. Missing Rondo, like I said, he has the ability to take over games, as we've seen him do, against the elite players in the world, and we don't have a player like that. That hurts us. But, not knowing what to do or what plays to run, every team goes through that a little bit, but we should not be having that problem, no."

On whether the Celtics need to be tougher on offense or defense: "To me it's all an attitude. I think when you try to define whether your offense wins or your defense wins, it's attitude that wins. Your perspective and the way you play the game, and I think that offense takes care of itself, sometimes. So, both is the answer. You've got to create offense sometimes with your defense if you're struggling, and you've got to find a way. I'd liken it to a pitcher who doesn't have his best stuff. You've still got to get guys out. And we've got to find a way to get stops and get in the open court as much as we can. But, offensively we need to assert ourselves, we need to be more physical offensively."

On whether Paul Pierce is being asked to do too much and others need to contribute more: "Yes. I mean, I think Paul has taken four charges in two games. I'm not sure anyone else on the team has taken any. Paul is our leading scorer, he's carrying an offensive burden. Paul is, right now, our best player and our best scorer and he needs help. He needs other guys stepping up and he can't do it the whole game. It's a grind for him, and Paul, still, shows signs of being a great player. He's not as consistently great as he was five years ago, but he still is a fantastic player in this league and he's showing that in this playoff series."

On what the Celtics need to do to come back and win the series: "We've got to make shots. I mean, we've got to have contributions out of a lot of people. We can't do it with one or two guys like New York has done. We don't have that kind of scoring power, we don't have the leading scorer in the NBA on our team right now. So, we've got to get contributions out of a lot of people."

NEW YORK -- Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo, rehabbing from ACL surgery in February, joined the team in New York on Saturday for Game 1 of an Eastern Conference first-round series against the New York Knicks.

Rondo had actually hoped to sync up with the team on Friday, but the since-completed manhunt in Boston in the aftermath of Monday's marathon bombing and the citywide lockdown actually prevented him from getting down to New York City. But Rondo was on the bench Saturday, wearing a bright yellow cardigan beneath a blazer and offering words of encouragement -- and direction -- to his teammates.

Rondo, who returned from the initial phase of his rehab in Florida late last month and attended a couple of home games, was a welcome presence on the road as Boston embarked on its postseason voyage.

"It's great to have him around. Everybody smiled, hugged him this morning, surprised he was here," said Avery Bradley. "We're so happy to see him. He's our leader, and to have him here just makes me feel even more relaxed out there."

The Celtics really could have used Rondo's steady hand on the floor Saturday, as Boston turned the ball over 21 times in an 85-78 loss. But Bradley said Rondo's ability to impart knowledge, particularly given that Boston doesn't have a pure backup ball handler, is a nice luxury for the team's stable of combo guards.

"He's still our leader. I know he'll be on the bench, coaching just like Doc," said Bradley. "So he's going to be big being here. His presence is going to be big for us."

Did the team miss him?

"Definitely. Not having him in the gym. When he came, we were so happy to see him," said Bradley. "Every time he comes we're happy to see him. We're like a family. Somebody's gone for a week and they come back, it's like, 'Yeah, finally, you're back!' So, that's what kind of feeling it is. I'm just happy he's doing well."

Rivers, who had previously said he was indifferent about Rondo's postseason plans and said he was fine with any decision so long as he focused on his rehab, admitted he was happy to have Rondo along.

"He probably coaches as much as anybody. And I don’t know if it helps, but I think it does," said Rivers. "I actually don’t know; as a player you tend to listen to the players in the uniform over the suits and ties. I feel that way as a coach all the time. So, we’ll see. But I know it was great today in shootaround, he knew every set the Knicks were running. Every time we called out a set to walk through it, he was pointing where everybody [would be]. I mean, it’s amazing. He’s always been that way. I was surprised today because he’s not playing. And yet he studied the book. There’s gotta be some good value in that."

Asked if Rondo was like adding another coach, Rivers quipped, "He’s always been on another level that way. I always tell him that, if he wasn’t so crazy, he’d be a great coach."

Read on for more postgame notes on under-the-radar nights for Jason Kidd and Brandon Bass, along with a note on Boston's big-man-less bench:

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In his first public comments since undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL in his right knee, Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo told ESPN’s Hannah Storm that it’s “frustrating” to not be on the floor with his teammates but has come to accept the situation.

“I’m in a place now where I am OK with it,” Rondo told Storm in a sit-down interview that will air on ESPN2 at 9 p.m. on April 18. “I know this is my main focus, getting healthy.”

Rondo tore the ACL on Jan. 25 against the Atlanta Hawks. He didn’t think the injury was serious at the time (“I didn’t hear a pop ... I thought I could play through it,” he told Storm) and intended on playing two days later against the Miami Heat. Before that game, however, he detected something was wrong.

“It was shocking, frustrating,” he said. “I wanted to play against the Heat that day, Sunday, and I thought I was playing. But maybe 30 minutes on the clock I did my ritual, my routine, I got in the shower and something was telling me this just didn’t feel right.”

He went to the hospital that day and underwent an MRI on the knee. On his way back to TD Garden, he said he heard on the radio that he might have a torn ACL.

“I was like, ‘We just got the results, there’s no way possible,’” he said.

He got the news from the team soon after he got back to the Garden. A couple of weeks later, on Feb. 12, he underwent surgery in Florida. Noted orthopedist Dr. James Andrews performed the procedure, and Rondo remained in Florida for a while to begin the initial phase of his rehabilitation.

Rondo described his current rehab regimen as “intense” fundamental exercises to rebuild strength in the area of the injury.

“This is a learning process all over again as far as my leg,” Rondo said. “It’ll be good for me, have a chance to let my body heal and work on things I never worked on my body before.”

Training camp will start about seven months after Rondo went under the knife to repair the ACL. The normal recovery time for this kind of injury is about 9-12 months. NFL MVP Adrian Peterson needed less than 9 months to return from the injury, but fellow point guard Derrick Rose has still not returned to the Chicago Bulls 11 months after surgery. There was no other structural damage found in Rondo’s knee beyond the partial tear, which doctors believe might accelerate his return. Nevertheless, Rondo was hesitant to put a timetable on it.

“When I got out of surgery, for 3-4 weeks nobody said anything about when I’ll be back, or when I’ll be able to play, they just wanted me to take it one week at a time and just see how I progress from there,” he told Storm. “Everybody’s body is different. Everybody plays the game differently. An injury like this varies.”

Is there anything that scares Rondo about coming back from the torn ACL?

“Doing it again,” he said. “But other than that, no.”