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BOSTON--Rajon Rondo started game 4 Monday and will attempt to play through persistent pain of a dislocated elbow suffered in the victory in game 3 Saturday at the Miami Heat.
Rondo is wearing a bulky brace to be immobilizing the arm in contact, but coach Doc Rivers is persuaded that his custody of the All-Star Game can remain effective on the Court.
"He looked OK this morning [shootaround]," said rivers before the match. "Just Gotta wait and see." It is very similar to [Shaquille O'Neal], you must examine the eyes and make a decision. It's the same thing with Rondo. I think that he'll be OK if I really.
"He still has legs and he still has the speed. It is just gotta play the game with the same force that the other night, he plays and it is for the team. Rondo force and pressure of the ball, it is very, very important for us. This is what we are going to look at. If he cannot do that, if he cannot play with speed, then it is not very effective. ?
Rivers also gave an update positive on backup guard Delonte West, who bruised his left shoulder in the second quarter of Saturday victory.
"Delonte is fine," said rivers. "It is wrong, of course, the shoulder is bothering him." "But he looked end [at shootaround]."
To be safe, the Celtics activated veteran Carlos Arroyo to add depth to the guard post in the Rondo or West case is limited. Boston healthy scratches are Avery Bradley, Troy Murphy and Sasha Pavlovic.
Rivers also said that O'Neal responded well to his first activity in more than a month after having played the 8? minutes in game 3. Rivers wants to see more of what the O'Neal in his brief passage in the second period.
"The first half, I thought it worked," rivers said. "But I thought in the second half, it was really good." He gave us exactly what might give us and what we needed. I don't know if there is a breakthrough for him. You get on the floor the first time, and you're tentative. I thought that it was much more aggressive in the second half. We have that. ?
Before the match on Monday, heat President Pat Riley gave a handful of individual pep talks to his players on the floor of garden after the morning team shootaround. Rivers, who played under Riley with the New York Knicks, said that these words could go a long way.
"It is a hell of a speaker, I guarantee you that," rivers said. "There is no better speaker that I was on my life." Therefore, I guarantee you that whatever he has said, the reached. And they are displayable with incredible intensity. ?
Chris Forsberg covers the Celtics for ESPNBoston.com.
Follow Chris Forsberg on Twitter: @ ESPNForsberg
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