After earlier reports surfaced saying the injury to Rajon Rondo’s fractured right thumb was likely severe enough for him to miss the entirety of the remainder of the series against the Boston Celtics, it appears that may not be the case. The Chicago Bulls may be getting their point guard back after Rondo missed just two games.
Shams Charania of The Vertical reported on Tuesday he had sources who said Rajon Rondo is “preparing to attempt to play” against the Celtics in Game 5. Later that night according to ESPN’s Marc Stein, Rondo had a private workout in Boston to test his hand to see if it was possible for him to go the following day.
Prior to his injury Rondo had been an absolute headache for the Celtics as he helped lead Chicago to two straight wins on Boston’s home turf. Over those games, the four-time All-Star averaged an impressive stat line of 11.5 points, 10 assists, 8.5 rebounds and 3.5 steals.
In his absence a trio of Isiah Canaan, Jerian Grant and Michael Carter-Williams have failed to come close to replicating Rondo’s production. Canaan has had the best playoff outing of the three, tallying 13 points, three assists, and two rebounds in 32 minutes of action during Game 4. Canaan had previously logged zero minutes during the series first three games, with game 4 being the first time the point guard logged double-digit minutes in a game since Feb. 12. Andrew Seligman of the Associated Press reported Bulls’ head coach Fred Hoiberg stated Monday he intended to start Canaan in Game 5. This statement of course coming prior to the development that Rondo may be able to play.
As of now, there is nothing is set in stone with regards to Rondo. All that is known at this point is the point guard may play, but the Celtics will still have to prepare for that possibility. An injured Rondo is still a lethal passer nonetheless and Boston will have to contain him if he’s on the court in order to win a pivotal game No. 5 at home tonight at 8:30 p.m.
