Celtics' Rajon Rondo suggests on Twitter that he will return to court on Friday vs. Lakers
Rajon Rondo averaged 13.7 points and 11.1 assists last season. (Garrett Ellwood/Getty Images)
Rajon Rondo has posted a cryptic Twitter message suggesting that he will make his 2013-14 season debut when the Celtics host the Lakers on Friday.
"29,233,380 [seconds]," Rondo wrote on Monday night.
That time frame equates to a little more than 338 days, which marks the duration between Rondo's season-ending knee surgery, which occurred on Feb. 13, 2013, and Friday.
That calculation coincides with a Yahoo! Sports report from last week, which cited sources who said Rondo was "targeting" the Lakers game for his much-anticipated return to the court.
Rondo was coy when asked about the report, according to the Associated Press, telling reporters that he planned to return before the All-Star break in mid-February, without providing a specific date.
''It's just a feeling,'' he said. ''I'll probably just wake up [one] morning and play.''
Celtics coach Brad Stevens also hasn't revealed a firm return date for Rondo, who tore the ACL in his right knee during a Jan. 27, 2013, loss to the Hawks.
"We never talked about a specific date," Stevens said, according to the AP. "It's been, 'Hey, when you feel like you're close, then we'll talk at that point.' But I've never talked to him about that nor have I heard from our organization that there's been a date that's been targeted."
A four-time All-Star and a four-time All-Defensive selection, Rondo's Twitter hint-dropping is right in line with his reputation as a math whiz. A Feb. 2013 profile of Rondo by Sports Illustrated's Lee Jenkins notes that Rondo was gifted on the court and in the classroom, according to his high school coach and teacher, Doug Bibby.
"He was a terrible student," says Bibby, "but he was smart as hell."
Bibby taught math, and after Rondo aced the first few tests, Bibby assumed he was cheating. So Bibby made up special tests for Rondo, but he aced those too. Once, Rondo was dozing while Bibby scrawled a geometry problem on the chalkboard. When Bibby called on him, Rondo woke up, rubbed his eyes and blurted an answer. "Don't be an a------," Bibby muttered. Then Bibby finished the problem and found that Rondo was right. He still gave him a D.
Boston Magazine reported in Nov. 2012 that Rondo spent an off day teaching freshman algebra at a high school in Dorchester, and he tweeted a picture of himself in front of a whiteboard breaking down an equation.
Rondo, 27, averaged 13.7 points, a league-leading 11.1 assists, 5.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game for the Celtics last season. Following his injury, Boston was eliminated in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs and management then proceeded to undertake a rebuilding effort by trading away Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry to the Nets. Coach Doc Rivers also left to join the Clippers, and Stevens was hired from Butler University to take his place.
The 13-26 Celtics, losers of nine straight games, will host the Raptors on Wednesday before they host the Lakers on Friday.
