The NBA is currently undergoing a transition in which advanced analytics are being more heavily involved in decision-making, but most agree that it can't replace the human element of actual scouting.

“Sometimes with the analytics and all the other information that’s out there, it sometimes leads to shortcuts that coaches can’t do,” Ainge said. “Coaches need to watch their teams, watch the film, communicate with their players, get the players to play fundamentally sound.

“I think sometimes numbers lead to shortcuts. We’re trying to make sure that that doesn’t happen.”

Brad Stevens is noted for having an analytical approach, but he believes in the importance of watching film. 

“The biggest thing is more what you can pick up on the film,” said Stevens.

Rajon Rondo appreciates Ainge's approach.

“I think that’s why Danny is one of the best GMs around,” Rondo said. “He’s a player that played the game. It’s not just about business aspect — well, then again, it is — but you still have to have a feel for the game, have a feel for players, know personnel.

“You just can’t look at a number and say, ‘OK, this guy is shooting 50 percent from the field, 90 percent from the free throw line, put him on this team and have a great season.’ It doesn’t work like that.

“You’ve got to know personalities. I think you’ve got to know the locker room. I think that’s why [Heat president] Pat Riley has done a great job. I don’t know who the GM is for the Spurs, but [him, too].”

Walter McCarthy is interested in the Boston College coaching job.

McCarthy is considered an intriguing candidate due to the potential he has in recruiting in the Boston area.

McCarthy is currently an assistant coach with the Boston Celtics.

Danny Ainge earlier this week addressed Rajon Rondo's growth into the Boston Celtics' leader, acknowledging his strides and room for improvement.

“Rondo has incrementally grown from the time he’s been here in his leadership,” Ainge said. “I still think he has a ways to go to becoming the leader that we want him to be or that I think he will be when he’s in his 30s. But he’s taking that seriously and he’s trying to grow as a leader.”

Ainge added he does not like to name any player -- including Rondo -- as "the face of the franchise."

“Because that puts a lot of pressure on one person to be something they might not be,” Ainge said. “Rondo has always been a face of the franchise. I think he’s probably the most popular Celtic since Larry Bird . . . maybe [Kevin Garnett] for a short period, but I think Rondo sort of won over that in the last few years as being the best player on our team.

“But I look at every player as a leader. They’re either leading a guy to be a more positive player, [have] a more positive work ethic, or they’re leading in a negative way. Rondo has been one of our leaders. He has been one of our captains, whether he had the C on his jersey or not. Like Paul [Pierce] did, he has been the coach on the floor for us for the last four or five years as we were trying to win championships. 

“I think there’s so much put on him. Right now, there’s no Paul, KG, and Ray Allen, so it’s putting more on him because we don’t have the players with the same magnitude and the same perception in the media.”

Jerryd Bayless has enjoyed his time with the Boston Celtics, who acquired him in a deal with the Memphis Grizzlies before the trade deadline.

Bayless will be a free agent at season's end but is prioritizing a return to the Celtics.

"I would be happy about that," Bayless said. "That would be great. One of the things I said when I got here is I want to find a home somewhere. I’d be very happy staying here."

Bayless left a possible playoff team to join the Celtics. He is averaging 9.6 points and 3.4 assists with Boston.

"I don’t think it’s hard. It’s frustrating, but I don’t think it’s hard," Bayless said of the Celtics' losing. "The coaching staff and organization do a great job of keeping us focused."

Chris Babb will sign with the Boston Celtics for the rest of the season and the new deal will include team options for future years, according to sources.

Babb concluded his second 10-day contract on Thursday.

Chris Babb has signed a second 10-day contract with the Boston Celtics.

Babb has appeared in four games for the Celtics. He has averaged 3.3 points and 1.8 rebounds in 13.1 minutes per game.

Rajon Rondo and Josh Smith discuss the possibility of playing on the same team again.

Rondo and Smith were teammates as Oak Hill.

"We call each other every once in a while to check up and see how one another is doing," Smith said on Sunday. "He's my best friend, especially in the NBA. We still talk all the time, and our families take vacations together. He's a very good friend."

Rondo will become a free agent in 2015.

"The conversation comes up," Smith admitted. "We always tell each other what a surreal moment that would be, for us to connect again. With the different free agencies that we have [Rondo comes off the Boston books in 2015; Smith is locked in through 2017], it could be far-fetched, but it could be possible. I tend to be an optimist."

Vitor Faverani underwent left knee arthroscopy to repair a torn lateral meniscus.

Faverani will not return this season.

Faverani appeared in 37 games in his rookie season for the Boston Celtics. He averaged 4.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.73 blocks in 13.2 minutes per game.

Rajon Rondo is shooting 36 percent on three-pointers this season, as he is seeing results from working on his shot with assistant coach Ron Adams.

“He was shooting better, from an opponent’s view point,” Adams said after practice Tuesday. “But like a lot of players, the technical part of his shooting, I thought, could be better.”

“I gotta give Ron Adams a lot of credit,” Rondo said recently. “He’s been with me since Day 1.’’

Adams said Rondo deserved the bulk of the credit, but their work together began with a simple notion.

“One of the things we talked about was knowing when you’re open and shooting the ball,” Adams said. “That’s a fundamental change for him in some ways.”

Rondo and Adams also examined every aspect of his shooting motion.

“You start with the feet,” Adams said. “You see how fluid the shot is through the feet and then you work your way up.”

Rondo's large hands also creates an issue with his shot.

“That’s a little bit of an issue with him,” Adams said. “It’s good to have big hands, but he’s working on certain things as far as catching and so on so that he can catch and release and spin the ball in the right way.”

The Boston Celtics have one of the most interesting front offices in the NBA with a basketball lifer in Danny Ainge working side-by-side with people from more of an analytics background.

Daryl Morey, who is considered a pioneer in basketball analytics, was previously with the Celtics' front office.

"I think that there remains great value (in analytics), and it continues to progress and improve," Ainge said. "Where we are as an organization today is much further along than we ever have been in the last 10 years. We're identifying what's relevant and what isn't, and we're continuing to improve those things that we can actually rely on and what things we can't rely on.

"You win with great players, obviously. That's the one way everybody knows how to win. But I think everybody is looking for an edge. Everybody is looking for little tweaks in the system."