BOSTON -- Celtics guards Rajon Rondo and Nate Robinson remain dinged up with minor injuries, but both will play Friday night against the Bulls.
After saying Rondo's hamstring tightened up again in Wednesday's win over the Trail Blazers, Rivers reversed course Friday and said the plantar fasciitis in his feet remained the only real concern. He said Rondo got treatment Thursday and didn't make a big deal of the injuries, but Rivers noted he wants to get his point guard's minutes down moving forward.
Robinson's right foot has bothered him ever since landing awkwardly following a third-quarter 3-pointer in Atlanta last week. Robinson has played in four games since the injury, but logged little more than three minutes in Wednesday's game due in part to the ailing foot.
"We're the same really," said Rivers. "Rondo’s getting better; Nate’s foot is still bothering him, but he’s going to play tonight; and [Jermaine O'Neal] I haven’t really checked, so we’re doing the same."
* Despite the injuries with his two of his primary ball-handlers, Rivers suggested the Celtics won't rush rookie Avery Bradley onto the court, particularly as he learns the system after sitting out much of training camp and the preseason while recovering from offseason left ankle surgery.
"He's getting there," said Rivers. "We haven’t had a lot of practices, but he’s getting better. Avery’s going to get his time. I know how you guys love the backup quarterback, but Avery will get his shot, eventually, when he’s ready."
* Rivers on the Bulls with the addition of Carlos Boozer (who returned Wednesday after missing the first 15 games due to injury): "They're not a lot different, they’re just better, deeper. The fact that you have [Taj] Gibson coming off the bench makes you one heck of a basketball team. Gibson is a starter on most teams in the league. The fact that he’s coming off the bench, that tells you how deep they are at that position. And it makes them really good."
* With a lot of chatter about Kevin Garnett and Joakim Noah, Rivers revealed how the Celtics worked out Noah before the 2007 draft and noted he was extremely high on him. After Boston slid to No. 5, it's not unfathomable to think that Noah was in heavy consideration from Boston. Of course, the Celtics ended up taking Jeff Green and swinging him to Seattle to start the process of assembling the Big Three by receiving Ray Allen in return.
* Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau talked about his squad's need to become a "48-minute team" during his pregame chat (something the Celtics obviously struggled with at times during Thibodeau's stay in Boston). The best moment of the confab might have come when Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge crashed the festivities to get a fistpound (scrub to 27 seconds in on the video below):