But he's still working at it. Rondo was the only current Celtics player present Wednesday at the team's practice facility, and he's still rehabbing, trying to return to peak physical form.
"He's not 100 percent yet," said Danny Ainge, meeting with the media for a pre-draft session on Wednesday afternoon. "He's probably about four weeks away from playing basketball full-speed. He can do some training and conditioning right now, that's all."
Rondo left in the third quarter of Game 3 after the tangle-up with Wade. Unbelievably, he returned in the fourth and helped to fuel a 97-81 C's win over the Heat, their only victory in the five-game series. He managed to play 38 minutes in Game 4 and 30 in the final despite the severe injury.
"Rondo's a tough kid," Ainge said. "But I think any of our players would have been out there playing, though, in that situation. You don't often get the opportunity to play in a big series like that. Rajon was in a lot of pain but was able to give us a good effort."
"I don't think players get enough credit, honestly," added coach Doc Rivers. "Rondo, what he did was amazing. But I agree with Danny — I think everybody on our team would have played.
"I can't speak for other teams, but I think we have that kind of group. They wanted to win, and they knew that you can't take any year for granted. They wanted this to be our year. That didn't happen, but it still says a lot about the guy that he went out and played."
