(Delonte West said he and Von Wafer “were able to move past” their fight.)

There’s something hysterical about the thought of Shaq and Kendrick Perkins swimming laps side by side because of injuries. There’s also something sad about that thought – those two injuries mean the Celtics have only two centers standing: Jermaine O’Neal and Semih Erden. Of the two centers left, J.O. is a bit banged up (sore knee) and Erden has never played a single NBA minute. Oh yeah, Erden also has a sore shoulder. And J.O just told reporters, “My comfort level is at an all-time low in terms of chemistry.” Great to hear, Jermaine. Glad everything’s working out perfectly!

Seriously, I haven’t been too concerned by injuries so far. But my brother Tommy made a great point in an email:

He wrote, “Am I the only one who is just a LITTLE worried about all the injuries and drama that has gone on so far? I mean, we are only three games into the season and already Semih, JO, Shaq, Bradley (worst ankle sprain ever, apparently), and Delonte have been hurt. Not to mention the ongoing feud between Delonte and Wafer. The two biggest question marks going into the season were health and chemistry. Oh fer two, so far, I’d say.”

Well, Tommy, things just got a little worse. Bradley, already the proud owner of the world’s most severe ankle sprain, attempted a return to practice today. Normally that would be good, but he actually sprained his ankle again. The same one. Which means we probably won’t see him in action until 2012. (Note: I think I’m kidding, but I might not be.)

If you’re keeping score at home, the Celtics’ first round draft pick hasn’t played a single second, their fourth-string center practiced with the starting unit today, and their two backup shooting guards have developed some sort of ongoing feud. It’s not exactly all gravy in the C’s locker room right now.

Is it time to worry? Not yet, I don’t think. Maybe West and Wafer’s feud is indicative of something serious, maybe not. Time will tell, I suppose. If one of them has been a problem, I’m sure he’ll soon be released. (I’m kind of hoping Wafer’s the problem, because West is a lot better player.) Other than those two players, the chemistry seems great. The team seems a lot like the 2004 Red Sox “Idiots,” a fun-loving group of nutjobs that banded together to have fun and win ballgames. And the injuries? Maybe they’ll spiral out of control, but for now they’re not too bad.

Perhaps I should be more worried than I am. I should be upset by the injuries, right? But the Big Four all look perfectly healthy, more so than at any time last year. As much as it should bother me to already see Shaq hurting, I watch KG sprint like a gazelle and stop worrying. As much as it should bother me to see Avery Bradley’s paper mache ankles, I see Pierce blow by a defender and stop fretting.

It’s hard to explain my serenity, but there’s just something about the way KG is moving, the way Paul Pierce is attacking the basket, the way Glen Davis has grown up, and the way Rajon Rondo has far better vision than the average human being. There have been a lot of injuries, sure, but none seem severe and the Big Four all look in great shape. I knew there would be injuries this season — I’m just trying not to sweat the small stuff.

So I’m not overly concerned, yet.

But the start definitely hasn’t been perfect. And it might actually be a lot worse than I think.

Every wondered what Avery Bradley wore for Halloween when he was a child? Me neither. I spend a hundred hours or so per week thinking about the Celtics, but I’ve never once thought about what they used to wear for Halloween. I normally care whether they box out, what their shooting percentages are, how they lock down an opponent, or whether their court vision allows them to find open teammates.

But then I read a story about the Celtics old Halloween habits, and it was hilarious. Did you know that Ray Allen used to egg houses? Or that Avery Bradley stopped trick-or-treating in 8th grade, which happened to be just six years ago? Or that everyone thought Shaq was an adult when he trick-or-treated, so he hung up his Halloween costumes for good at the age of 10? Or that Glen Davis might be Kazam this year?

You should read Jimmy Toscano’s Halloween piece, written for CelticsBlog. It’s great.

And about Ray Allen egging houses? I was a lot like Ray. But I’m also the only person in history who ever got caught egging a house. True story. The most embarrassing moment of my life.

I’ve got to admit, this is the one time I could have broken news before Chris Forsberg. I’ve been playing pickup basketball with some kids who play for my old high school team, and one of them was stuttering a couple weeks ago: “I… I… I just p-p-played p-p-pickup with P-P-Paul H-H-Harris.”

I responded, “Okay, now calm down. He’s not THAT good. You don’t have to stutter like you just saw Michael Jordan. I mean, you’re blessed with ’the privilege’ of playing pickup against me twice a week and I haven’t seen you go gaga like that yet.”

The kid took three (very) deep breaths, took himself down a couple notches, and started speaking regular English.

“I just played against Paul Harris, man,” he said. “He’s been working out at L.A. Fitness for weeks now. He signed with the Red Claws.”

I nodded, replied “oh, I see,” and wondered to myself, why in the world did seeing Paul Harris, of all people, make this kid drool? Then I remembered myself in high school, the one time I played pickup basketball against someone noteworthy. And I use the word “noteworthy” loosely.

Long story short, Kenyon Martin’s half brother Richard Roby (or at least someone who claimed to be Kenyon Martin’s half brother Richard Roby, and I can’t imagine anyone who isn’t Roby would do that) came to my local park. We played a couple games. He was playing at Colorado at the time and was considered a first-round prospect, so he was pretty damn good. Good enough to murder me, at least. But I finished playing the games, walked home, and immediately called everyone I knew.

“Guess what I did today?”

“What?”

“Played basketball against Richardy Roby at Bliss Park!”

“Who the hell is Richard Roby?”

“Oh.”

Anyway, I remembered why this kid was so hyped about playing Paul Harris. As for the Red Claws? Lasme could be a Celtic within a month, whenever the Celtics get rid of Von Wafer. (I kid, I kid… but seriously.) Harris and Tiny Gallon are both intriguing prospects for the future. Harris is only a 6’2″ (or so) bruiser with limited guard skills, but he’s tough and super-athletic. And Gallon has a lot of talent, to go with his soft shooting touch in a big man’s body. If he can work himself into good shape, Gallon could become a real player.

I don’t see Mario West as a future Celtics call-up (even though I’d hate to have him defend me), and I know very little about Lamonte Ulmer (6’6″, 215-lb. wing from URI; averaged 12.1 ppg and 7.4 rpg in senior season) or Jamar Smith (6’3″ shooting guard from the University of Southern Indiana; D2 Player of the Year by at least one publication, averaging 21.6 ppg).

But damn it!, I could have broken news before Chris Forsberg. If only my stuttering, salivating source had been a little more reliable.

It’s difficult to fathom 24 assists. When you need a third hand just to count an assist total on your fingers, that’s an awesome game. When you need a fifth hand, that’s utterly ridiculous. Two separate times during my post-graduate year at prep school, I tallied 13 assists. After both those games I thought I was the man. I spent the next few days strutting around campus thinking my shit don’t stink. (“I just had 13 assists, Mrs. Science Teacher. I don’t need to do my flipping homework!”)

Rondo almost doubled my assist total from those two glorious days. According to Red’s Army contributor MrTrpleDouble10, Rondo totaled at least as many assists as 21 of the other 23 teams that played last night. (Yes, teams.) He put himself in the historical company of Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas, John Stockton and Bob Cousy. (Not a bad list to be on, huh?) And he somehow found enough time to notch a triple-double. (Not too shabby.)

It’s time to stop calling Rajon Rondo one of the NBA’s best point guards. He’s more than that. He’s one of the league’s best players, period. He was already the best player on a team that came within six minutes of a championship, and now he’s even better.

24 assists. It’s just not fair. Now if he can just limit those turnovers…

The first thing Glen Davis did this season was complain about his role, which is weird. Since then, he’s been filling it perfectly.

Does anyone have a single complaint about Davis’s play so far this season? Didn’t think so. He has always been a spark of energy off the bench. He has always fought his (oversized) arse off every time he steps on the floor. He has always taken charges like his idol was Shane Battier. But now he’s gained consistency. He’s producing, and he’s doing it efficiently.

Most importantly, he now trusts Doc Rivers’s offense. There was one play this preseason when I thought to myself, “Well I’ll be Goddamned. Big Baby finally gets it.” It wasn’t a dunk, a no-look pass, a charge taken, or even a rebound. In fact, it didn’t register at all in the stat book and was probably overlooked by most observers. Big Baby just caught a swing pass and, two-tenths of a second later, had already swung the ball to the next player. Then Big Baby sprinted (not ran, sprinted) to go set a screen. It was like he was a robot designed specifically to run Doc Rivers’s offense to perfection. There wasn’t any hesitation, no thoughts racing through his head: “Hey, if I swing the ball here I might not score myself.”

That willingness to trust (and run) the offense is the biggest change Big Baby’s made this year. He’s made other changes of course; Paul Pierce keeps raving about how Big Baby’s in great shape (if that’s great shape, I’d hate to see bad shape) and has more lift than he used to. But I don’t think Big Baby’s improved conditioning is why he’s been finishing better around the hoop. Big Baby now understands that he doesn’t have to create opportunities by himself — the offense will do that for him. Where he used to actively seek opportunities for himself, he now waits for opportunities to come to him.

Think about it — almost all of Big Baby’s points this year have been easy. He hasn’t made too many sweeping hook shots and he hasn’t been draining stepback jumpers. He’s been cutting to the middle of the lane, catching passes from his teammates, and finishing against defenders that were thrown off his trail by the hard cuts. He’s been shooting open midrange jumpers, and only the open ones. He’s made a few very nice post moves, but even the post moves normally occur when Big Baby has a nice matchup. What I’m trying to say is this: Big Baby’s not doing anything he shouldn’t do. He’s not doing anything he can’t do. He’s cut most of the fat out of his game. (Even if he can’t cut it off his body. Sorry, Big Baby. Had to do it.) He’s keeping everything simple.

Big Baby has been trying to do less this year. He just wants to run the offense and capitalize when he has an opportunity. Sometimes, less is more.

I glossed over this in my game recap (I should have discussed it more), but Rajon Rondo started off last night’s game horribly. He looked either drunk, high, halfway asleep, or D) All of the above. He airmailed one pass into the 12th row. He jumped into the air to throw another pass, and simply dropped it on the floor when he found nobody open. Sometime near the end of the first quarter, I thought to myself, “This is weird. Rondo’s not controlling this game. At all.”

Thankfully, it didn’t happen for long. Rondo started involving everybody (Paul Pierce said it was literally everybody, ”He got the popcorn man involved, he got the announcer involved, he got everybody involved tonight.”) and the rest was history. No, really, it was history. Rondo was just the second player in NBA history to record a triple-double while also registering 24 assists. (The other player? Isiah Thomas, who also had 24 assists in his triple-double. That could be a bad sign if Rondo ever chooses to become a GM.) His 24 assists were also the second-highest single-game total in Celtics history (Bob Cousy, 28), and his 50 assists so far this year tie John Stockton for the most assists ever over a season’s first three games.

Somehow, Rondo put his initially putrid start behind him. It reminded me of that saying you always hear about great shooters – they may miss twelve shots in a row, but they know the next one’s going down. Rondo may have turned the ball over twelves times in a row (okay, not really, it just felt like it), but he knows things are going to turn around. He has the confidence to stay aggressive even after all those miscues.

“Usually when you start off turning the ball over you get conservative,” Doc Rivers told CelticsBlog’s Jimmy Toscano. “It’s rare that you start the way he started the game and then still end up with the game he had. That’s a great sign for us and his mental toughness. A year ago, two years ago, no way that happens. He holds onto it or he calls safe plays.”

Not anymore. The new, aggressive Rondo seems here to stay. Gradually, he has become accustomed to his role as the Celtics’ most important player. Gradually, he has grown from the weak link on a title team to the MVP for a contender.

“They kept trusting in me,” Rondo told the Boston Herald. “Doc stayed with me, as well. If it wasn’t for that, it probably would have been the worst game I ever played.

“The first half was pretty bad. I couldn’t make shots, I turned the ball over, missed free throws. I just kept grinding, kept going. And, like I said, they believed in me.”

But more importantly, he now believes in himself. Even after things go wrong. Even after a few of his passes target the wrong team, or the man in the 12th row, or even the TD Garden floor.

“I give my teammates credit,” Rondo said, later adding, “It’s all about your teammates.”

Not always, Rondo. A lot of the time, it’s all about you.