Rondo out against Toronto, has now missed eight straight

Share

BOSTONThe Boston Celtics will continue to field a Rajon Rondo-less team, with C's coach Doc Rivers indicating that he'll remain out of the lineup for tonight's game against Toronto.

This will be the eighth straight game Rondo has missed, the most consecutive games he has missed.

Rivers remains optimistic that Rondo will return to the lineup soon, possibly as early as Friday's game against New York.

Avery Bradley will remain in the starting lineup in place of Rondo, with E'Twaun Moore serving as his backup.

Despite not having Rondo, the C's have managed to win five of the seven games he has missed.

Paul Pierce has led the charge, but Boston has also gotten decent play out of Bradley and Moore.

"Avery has established himself defensively," said C's head coach Doc Rivers. "And E'Twaun has established himself offensively."

Still, both are clearly works in progress who need to improve on several facets of the game. Among the biggest areas of concern for both players is handling pressure.

Both Bradley and Moore had problems handling Cleveland's pressure defense in Monday's 93-90 win.

Rivers acknowledged both players didn't handle the Cavaliers pressure as well as he would have liked.

"The only way you can get better is going through that," Rivers said.

Contact Us