BOSTON, MA (The Spread) – An MRI revealed that Boston Celtics’ star Rajon Rondo suffered a torn right ACL and will miss the rest of the 2012-2013 NBA season.
Rondo suffered the injury in Boston’s win over the Miami Heat on Sunday. Rondo was leading the league in assists and played 37.4 minutes per game, so obviously the Celtics now have the unenviable task of replacing a player with such high production. In fact, many observers believe that it’s a hit that an aging Boston team won’t be able to recover from.
The Celtics have just a 2.5-game lead over the ninth-place 76ers at 21-23 overall. Coach Doc Rivers showed his frustration following Sunday’s game.
“We’ll see,” Rivers said. “Obviously, that’s a blow. It’s a huge blow for us.”
Paul Pierce tried to stay optimistic.
“We still like our chances in the Eastern Conference,” Paul said. “Responsibilities definitely go up when you have Rondo out of the game. (I’m) more of a facilitator. (I) have to (do) a little bit of everything for this ball club.”
The hope is that the Boston veterans will step up one last time before the team is forced to blow everything up. But with their sparkplug on the mend for the rest of the season, it’ll be difficult for the Celtics to make a deep run if they manage to clinch a postseason spot.
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