"Rajon Rondo [stats] didn't arrive until an hour until before gametime in his sweats last night, and said he was uncertain if he was going to play on his sprained right ankle.

But in these cases the decision goes to Doc Rivers, who in turn defers to trainer Ed Lacerte. From that perspective, the choice was simple — no Rondo.

The point guard, who sprained his ankle in the third quarter of Wednesday night's win over Utah, was replaced by Leandro Barbosa in the starting lineup for the C's 102-97 loss to Brooklyn.