Now that Chicago Bulls guard Rajon Rondo has been ruled out indefinitely with a broken thumb, is the team in trouble against the Boston Celtics?
The 2017 NBA Playoffs marked the start of a new beginning for the Chicago Bulls. After finishing a turbulent regular season 41-41, the team held a solid 2-0 lead over the Boston Celtics in their first round series.
Yes, the same Celtics that finished 2016-17 as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference—an accomplishment that actually landed the Bulls in league record books, as only the second 8-seed in history to win the first two games of the postseason.
But as seems to be the story for Chicago over the last couple of years, their recent success may have been too good to be true.
On Friday afternoon, it was announced that point guard Rajon Rondo would be out indefinitely with a broken thumb. Having sustained the injury in the third quarter of Game 2, the veteran played through the pain, helping his squad earn an 111-97 win. However, now confined to a cast reaching up to his elbow, Rondo will have to settle for cheering his teammates on from the sideline.
(And perhaps finding unique ways to help out…)
This is certainly bad news for the Bulls, who relied quite a bit on the guard's playmaking and basketball IQ, in the first two games. Rondo dished out a combined 20 assists, while also recording 23 points and pulling down 17 rebounds. On top of acting as a leader, between plays.
And his absence has already been felt. In their 104-87 loss on Friday night, Chicago looked like a completely different team. They did not have the same momentum, had a much harder time finding good looks and were inconsistent on both ends of the floor.
In essence, reverting back to their regular season ways.
Which is something Boston definitely took advantage of.
"We felt like with the switching we were gonna throw a curveball at those guys and try to make them as stagnant as possible without the primary ballhandler, which is Rondo making plays and passing the ball and creating for others," Jae Crowder explained. "We had a good game plan going into it."
No doubt a plan the Celtics are going to stick to, moving forward.
What about the Bulls?
Well, it is not so simple.
On the one hand, Jimmy Butler will probably not have another Game 3 . In one of his worst performances yet, he finished with 14 points on 7-of-21 shooting. He missed 11 of his first 12 shots, and did not get to the line once. Similarly, although he finished with 18 points, Dwyane Wade had himself a lackluster second half, shooting just 1-for-8.
In other words, Chicago could get back to winning if the other two Alphas find their grooves again. Especially if guys like Robin Lopez and Nikola Mirotic continue to step up.
However, the biggest problem they face is finding a replacement for Rondo. Mostly because well… one does not exist.
In Game 3, Jerian Grant was given Rondo's starting role, with Michael Carter-Williams coming in as his backup. Together, they had just three assists and only shot 3-of-10 from the field. A poor substitute for a guy who not only puts up his own respectable numbers, but makes sure everyone else does so too.
As for Cameron Payne, he saw a mere four minutes on the floor, an indication that head coach Fred Hoiberg is not fully comfortable using the 22-year-old just yet.
So unfortunately, it does indeed seem like the Bulls are in trouble.
Now maybe Grant will turn things around. After all, he did score 18 against the Portland Trailblazers back in November, and 17 versus the Orlando Magic just a few weeks back. Or perhaps Hoiberg will move Butler and/or Wade over, to take on the bulk of the offensive responsibility.
But what was seemingly a manageable round one for Chicago, has just become a battle.
With the Bulls up 2-1, Game 4 will take place on Sunday, April 23 at 5:30 PM CT.
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