NBA Rumors: Boston Celtics’ Rajon Rondo won’t play in back-to-backs

The Boston Celtics have been very cautious with point guard Rajon Rondo in his return from a knee injury.

The Celtics know they need to keep Rondo 100% healthy in order to become a contender again (whether that mean he is their point guard of the future or they will trade him for future assets remains to be seen).

According to Celtics’ General Manager Danny Ainge, Rondo will not play in any more back-to-back’s this season.

“Based on where we are as a team and Rondo is his rehab, it’s probably safe to say he won’t play back-to-backs the rest of the year,” Ainge told Toucher and Rich of CBS Boston. “We need him to play because we want him to get re-acclimated; there’s a mental process and mental hurdle to overcome when you come back from an ACL tear.”

“So it’s important for him to play some games, but at the same time we don’t want to wear him out or take any risks. We want him to have a full year of rehab and strengthening and not take any steps backwards,” he said. “We’re going to be careful with Rondo as we finish the year. It appears he’s gaining ground to being back to who he is, and we want to see him at 100 percent next season.”

Rondo is averaging 11.9 points, 8.7 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game in 19 games this season.