WALTHAM, Mass. -- Masked ever so slightly as the Boston Celtics kicked away Wednesday's game against the Toronto Raptors was Rajon Rondo's 30th career triple-double and first of the 2014-15 season.
Ho-hum. Just another night at the office for Mr. Triple-Double, right? Rondo seemingly has flirted with a triple-double every game this season while topping the team in both rebounds and assists through four games. So it was more noteworthy that Boston turned the ball over 27 times and fumbled away a double-digit lead than the fact that Rondo put up 13 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds.
It was Rondo's 20th regular-season triple-double, and ESPN Stats & Info notes that since the 2008-09 season, Rondo is tied with LeBron James for the most triple-doubles in the league.
It's only a matter of time before Rondo passes the league's most talented player in that category. For the season, he's averaging 9.3 points, 9 rebounds and 12.5 assists per contest, all while still working his way back from a broken hand that originally was expected to have him on the sideline at this point.
In Rondo's quest to re-establish himself as an elite point guard, his most difficult challenge might be finding a way to make Boston competitive enough for the rest of the league to take note of his exploits. But the Celtics' turnovers on Wednesday night ensured that the "SportsCenter" highlight focused more on Kyle Lowry's late-game steal and feed to DeMar DeRozan than anything Rondo had done earlier in the night.
But what Rondo did on the court wasn't lost on coach Brad Stevens.
"I showed a couple of clips today to the team. He was dynamite, he was fantastic," Stevens said. "He's playing great."
Those clips almost certainly included a second-quarter sequence in which Rondo received an outlet pass near the Toronto 3-point arc, made just three dribbles and finished a layup in traffic over a pair of Raptors. On Boston's next offensive possession, Rondo again received the ball near the opponent's 3-point line and this time needed five dribbles before getting to the rim and making a layup while being fouled.
Rondo's own offense often has taken a backseat to his preference to create, and he must find a balance between being a distributor and a scorer. But it's hard to argue with his production.
Consider this: Rondo doesn't just lead the NBA in assists; the league's player tracking data reveals that he's second in total passes per game (80.5) and tops the NBA in assist opportunities per game (21.8). More importantly, he leads the league in points created by assist per game at 29.3 points. For context, the closest player to Rondo -- Ricky Rubio -- is nearly three points behind, while John Wall is the only other player in the league averaging more than 22.8 points created by assist per game.
When Boston's offense showed crisp ball movement in the preseason, some wondered if Rondo's return might disrupt the flow and rhythm given his ball-dominating ways. Stevens was certain the team could find the proper mix of Rondo working both on and off the ball to allow the offense to thrive.
Through four games, Boston's offensive rating is 106.2 points per 100 possessions, ranking, appropriately, No. 9 in the league.
"You talk about the fit and how good of a fit we think he could be, he certainly looks that way," Stevens said. "The way that he's pushing the ball up the court and the way that he's finding guys. Then I thought [Wednesday] was his best defensive game, probably in the time I've coached him. So I think there's a lot of good things that he's doing."
That includes rebounding. Rondo leads the team with a defensive rebounding rate of 24.8 percent -- a number that even Kevin Garnett wouldn't sneeze at. Elias Sports Bureau notes that Rondo is only the second player in NBA history to record 50 assists and 36 rebounds over the first four games of a season, the other being Oscar Robertson (59 assists, 52 rebounds) with the Cincinnati Royals in 1961.
Make no mistake, there's still plenty of room for Rondo's game to grow. His turnovers are much too high (4.5 per game) and he can still re-establish his midrange and 3-point jumpers to prevent teams from challenging him to shoot. Defensively, he can still elevate his game considering the way backcourt mates Avery Bradley and Marcus Smart are playing next to him.
But as Rondo puts up gaudy numbers, some will insist it only heightens his trade value and makes it more likely that the Celtics deal him before February's deadline. The guess here has long been that no one will meet Danny Ainge's asking price, particularly in-season, and the Celtics instead will attempt to keep Rondo as their anchor by offering him a maximum deal this summer with hopes that an improving young nucleus and Boston's pile of future assets are enough to convince him that the Green will soon return to contender status.
But the rumors persist. Tracy McGrady took to Twitter Thursday to suggest that James encourage the struggling Cleveland Cavaliers to pursue Rondo as a boost. A report from Sports Illustrated earlier this week noted that rival executives believe the Los Angeles Lakers will "make a strong run" at Rondo over the summer.
Making his weekly appearance on Boston radio 98.5 the Sports Hub on Thursday, Ainge was asked about the report and offered, "Everybody knows the circumstances with Rajon. Rajon is a free agent [this] summer. We like Rajon. And Rajon has the freedom to go anywhere else. So we have to make this an attractive place to stay."
And in order to make this an attractive place to play for others, the Celtics need Rondo. The rumors are not going anywhere, but likely neither is Rondo.
While Rondo has admitted he's no fan of his name constantly swirling in the rumor mill, he also doesn't like how his name has slipped from the conversation of elite guards. His early-season play suggests he's trying to remind us all of what he's capable of and, if enough people start speaking up about how he's returned to All-Star form, he'll have to endure the whispers about his future too.