Where is Rondo?

Rajon Rondo has been cleared for full contact practice with the Celtics and participated in his first full contact practice with the team on Saturday, December 14.  Though Danny Ainge was reported in the Boston Globe as saying there was "no time table" for Rondo's return, some news reports speculate that Rondo may be rejoining the team as soon as January or February. Rondo seems like he's eager to return and isn't giving off the same trepidations that Derrick Rose had about coming back to the Chicago Bulls last season.

I'm looking forward to the prospect of having a true point guard running the team, which would allow Jordan Crawford and Avery Bradley can return to their more natural position at the 2 guard spot.  While Crawford has done a commendable job at the point, you can tell it's still not what he's most comfortable doing.  But another possibility would be to have Crawford play the point for the second unit, which could squeeze Phil Pressey out of the rotation.  I'm sure Coach Brad Stevens will experiment with a number of different line ups to find out what works best.  And, of course, a lot will probably depend on match ups and the particular team the Celtics are playing.

I've heard some like Dennis & Callahan worry that Rondo will upset the fantastic team chemistry that Coach Brad Stevens seems to have cultivated with this young team and that without veteran All Stars like Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to keep him in check, Rondo's sometimes petulant ways will lead to the team's collapse.  Call me an optimist, but I think Rondo's addition will only be positive, though it will likely mean reduced minutes for players like Crawford and Pressey, who have played significant minutes in Rondo's absence.