Rajon Rondo To Play For Celtics On Opening Night

Rajon Rondo will be a part of Opening Night with the Boston Celtics, as the All-Star point guard will be in the starting lineup

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Rajon Rondo will be a part of the Boston Celtics’ Opening Night lineup against the Brooklyn Nets.

The former All-Star point guard has made considerable progress after breaking his hand, participating in full workouts on Friday. The eight-year veteran comes back after a brutal stretch of injuries that limited him to just 30 games last season. Rondo missed the entire first half of the 2013-14 campaign recovering from a torn ACL before returning to average 11.7 points, 9.8 assists and 5.5 rebounds. However, Rondo — never confused as the embodiment of accurate shooting before his injury — shot just .403 from the field and .627 from the line.

An unrestricted free agent after the end of the season, Rondo is the last holdover of the Celtics’ 2007-08 NBA championship team.

Rondo’s return also keeps Marcus Smart from becoming the first rookie to start for the Celtics on Opening Night since Paul Pierce in 1997. Smart, one of the team’s two first round picks, had been projected to start at the point while Rondo recovered from his broken hand. Smart had his struggles in the preseason, but finished strong with 29 points in his final two games last week.

Should both Rondo and Smart find themselves on the court at the same time, the Celtics will have two defensive-minded players on the perimeter, although Smart’s shooting makes Rondo look like the second coming of Larry Bird in his prime, as Smart shot under 35 percent from the field during the exhibition campaign.

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