Notebook: Jayson Tatum's knee exam comes back clean, plans to play Tuesday

WALTHAM -- Jayson Tatum is one of the three Celtics who have played in every regular season game this year and that streak looks likely to continue on Tuesday against the New Orleans Pelicans after the rookie's x-rays and MRI came back negative on a sore knee. After sitting out Saturday's practice, the 19-year-old was back on the court on Monday and he plans on suiting up Tuesday night as the Celtics go for their eighth straight win.

"It feels a lot better," Tatum said of the injury. "I just tweaked it in the game in London, and the long plane ride it got a little stiff. We had a few days off until our next game. So they just told me to rest the other day at practice."

"Jayson’s x-rays and MRI whatever came back looking good," Brad Stevens added. "I don’t know what officially he was diagnosed as, but he went through most of practice today and he’ll be at least questionable, probably probable, for tomorrow."

After practicing with just ten players on Saturday, the Celtics were back at full strength on Monday, outside of Gordon Hayward. Al Horford continues to battle a sore calf but went through the full practice session.

"It was the Minnesota game in the first half (I hurt it)," Horford of his calf injury. "I came back and played the second half and the next day it bothered me a lot. I couldn’t do what I needed on the court. An extra day helped me. Monitoring it right now and it’s day-to-day. ...It's not going to hold me back."

Shane Larkin returned to the court as well after staying home with an illness over the weekend, which allowed Stevens to hold a more intense practice session than usual.

"I think there's a reason why we had a few days off before we play again," he said. "I think we'll all be anxious to play tomorrow and get back at it. My biggest thing is we have to keep our foot on the gas. Saturday we came in and we didn't stop moving for 45 minutes. It was basically running the cobwebs out after the flight and then yesterday was a good day off for everybody. Today we were a little more purposeful in what we were doing."

Rondo makes a visit

The Pelicans are a chalk full of former Celtics (Tony Allen, E'Twaun Moore) but the biggest name of the bunch is Rajon Rondo, who starts for the 22-20 squad after signing a one-year deal this offseason. The 31-year-old played one and half seasons under Stevens before he was dealt away to the Mavericks, but the head coach only has positive thoughts on the point guard.

"I’ve always said that he was good here when I was here," Stevens said. "We struggled obviously but he was hurt most of the time. He had the ACL, didn’t play until the middle of my first year, then, the second year, got hurt right before training camp and missed all of training camp and then only played 20 games. I didn’t spend a ton of time with him but he was always really good to me."

Rondo has played a major role for an undermanned Pelicans team that has battled injuries all year long. He's part of an undersized backcourt with Jrue Holiday and the floor general has helped orchestrate the seventh-best NBA offense at the midway point of the year.

"Rondo’s been good this year," Stevens said. "He’s shooting the ball well and he is scoring off pick-and-rolls maybe even more than in the past. I think those guys draw attention and guys are recovering to them quickly and Rondo fakes it and turns the corner and does what he does. Then he’s just a guy that’s been there and he’s always made the guys around him better with his ability to pass the ball. He’s great at finding people in small areas. I thought he was the best passer in small areas I’ve ever seen. And those guys are benefiting from it certainly."

Incredibly, Marcus Smart is the only Celtic remaining from Rondo's days in Boston just three years later.