Rondo, who was injured in the third quarter of Boston's Game 3 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers the previous night, said that there was no swelling in the ankle overnight, but a minor accident nearly made matters worse.

"It was sore when I woke up this morning," said Rondo of the injury, which has been described as a bone bruise. "I almost fell out of bed. But like I said, the more time I put weight on it, the better it got throughout the day."

Rondo admitted that it was a bit scary to him to have his ankle in pain this morning.

"It was kind of a shock when I lost my balance, but I got it back and took a couple of steps," Rondo said. "I limped for a couple of minutes and it got better."

Rondo said that he’s received a number of comments from fans wishing him good luck and a speedy recovery since blogging about the injury late Tuesday night. In that entry, Rondo said that this injury has felt like nothing that he has ever experienced.

Celtics head coach Doc Rivers said that he planned on holding Rajon Rondo out of practice in order for him to rest and get treatment, but Rondo did end up doing a bit of light running and participated in some offensive drills while practice was open to the media.

While Rondo said that he's probably going to be available to play Thursday night in Game 4, his coach was a bit more reserved.

"I'm concerned because if Rondo can play but he doesn't have speed, then that's a concern," said Rivers, who noted that Rondo's speed, ability to apply pressure on defense and role as the team's lone pure point guard are the aspects that make him most valuable.

Rivers is not about to panic, though, if his starting point guard is not available. He's prepared to lean on Sam Cassell, Eddie House and, if necessary, Tony Allen.

House was praised by his coach and teammates for his play in Game 3 after Rondo went down. He scored six points in 20 minutes and managed to open up the Lakers defense a bit more for the Celtics interior players. Cassell, meanwhile, had two points in seven minutes.

Rivers said that he would even consider starting Allen, who has yet to play a minute in the Finals. Rivers pointed to Allen's starting performance on Dec. 30 against the Lakers in L.A. as a reason for potentially using the third-year guard to run in the point, if Rondo is unable to play on Thursday. In that game, Allen played 42 minutes and scored 16 points to go along with three rebounds and four assists as the Celtics won 110-91.

Allen, who could not recall the specifics of that performance earlier in the season, said that he will be ready to play if called upon.

"[Rondo's injury] doesn't change my preparation. I'll get ready just like I would for any other game," Allen said. "I know all of the plays. I've been watching Rajon all year long. I know what we're looking for in our sets.

"If I'm called upon to do that job, I know where are scorers are at. I'll attack when I have to attack and I'll shoot when I have to shoot. It's basically just a matter of being solid. That's all."

Allen last logged one minute of action against the Detroit Pistons in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals on May 26. Despite his lack of postseason action, Allen's teammates have confidence that he will be able to handle the role, especially on defense.

"Tony is a competitor, so if he plays, I don't see us missing a beat," Kevin Garnett said. "Obviously, rhythm-wise, all those things come into play as far as defense, but he'll be good. He's one of the guys on our team, along with Pose [James Posey] and some other guys, that play defense that is competitive, and you can put him on Kobe [Bryant], you can switch on certain situations and stuff, so it wouldn't be a bad thing."

Now, the Celtics, their fans and Rondo himself will play the waiting game for the next 24 hours. While many would probably like to see the team’s only true point guard return no matter what the cost, Rondo said that he is not about to put himself above the team, especially if he only feels 50 percent healthy.

“There's no way I'm going to miss [Game 4] probably,” Rondo said. “I don't want to hurt the team and go out there and not give it my all, but I think I'm pretty sure I'll be playing tomorrow night.”