Rajon Rondo Injury Makes Things Easier on Both Ends for Celtics
Rajon Rondo has suffered a devastating injury, giving the Celtics an edge they need to win their first game
One of the biggest reasons why the Chicago Bulls have been playing so well in the first two games of the playoffs is Rajon Rondo. “Playoff Rondo” has become a far too tired term at this point, but there is no doubting that he elevated his play this postseason, and the Bulls have absolutely nobody that can replace anything he does in his back court.
Rondo is out indefinitely with a broken thumb (Via ESPN), and it is going to come down to the likes of Jerian Grant and Michal Carter-Williams to take over a bigger role. Even if Rondo is a liability shooting the ball, they no longer have a point guard that they can trust, and that is the biggest advantage the Celtics could have looked for.
Isaiah Thomas has spent a lot of time guarding Rondo this postseason, which has lead to multiple players having to help over onto him. The Celtics reacted exactly how Rondo would want, because he found the open man that was left by the help every single time. Rondo has been the biggest reason why the Bulls continue to get open looks, and Grant or Cater-Williams are not capable of drawing in the help, or making the proper passes to get out of it.
On top of that, the help on Rondo has opened things up on the inside. There is no way this alone turns around the rebounding problems, but it keeps another body closer to the paint to try and contain Robin Lopez. If either of the backups were legitimate shooters, then there could be the issue of drawing his defender further out than Rondo would have. Fortunately, the Celtics do not have to worry about that.
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In fact, the Bulls’ point guard depth is so weak that you could even expect Denzel Valentine to get an opportunity to handle the ball, but chances are Dwyane Wade and Jimmy Butler will be forced to do all of their work without anyone helping create any space.
All of a sudden those two assignments become a lot less daunting for Marcus Smart, Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder. They can focus more on their particular matchups and, when they are going over and helping, they can start generating turnovers instead of getting carved up by Rondo’s passing.
The Celtics know generating turnovers is going to be essential in getting back into this series. The Celtics want to be in transition because it will burn the Bulls for trying to go for the offensive boards every time, and it will give them the easy baskets they need to score enough right now.
Butler is by far and away the Bulls’ best player, and the biggest problem on offense, but Rondo orchestrated a lot of what they did. The Bulls will need to adjust their approach quite a bit, and that is exactly why the Celtics need to pounce on them. Their defense has been awful in this series, but they know that if they play better, they should have no problem containing one of the worst shooting teams in the league, who now have to legitimate option to run the point.
Rondo is also a difficult matchup for Boston’s guards. Rondo is big and strong, and has enough speed to stay with shooters through screens. Rondo has made it a lot harder for the back court to get easy looks inside or outside. Of course, Butler is probably the biggest thing getting in Thomas’ way, but the bottom line is that Rondo is going to be replaced with a player that can be exploited.
With Butler being able to play on him, things will not get much easier for Thomas as a scorer, but this will certainly makes things easier on the offense as a whole, and that is what they need right now. The Celtics need to stop forcing things one on one on offense, and they need to make sure they are working together to get easier looks.
The Bulls will have to work hard to try and compensate for the loss on Rondo on that end, and that should create a lot more openings for the secondary players. The Bulls are going to focus on making sure that this injury does not change what Thomas is able to do as a scorer, and that will mean paying less attention to the other players, who need to make sure they use their ball movement to not just get a good shot, but get the best shot out of any situation.
Rondo has been one of the better stories of the playoffs so far, his near triple double had him looking like he did when he was last bringing the Celtics to the Eastern conference Finals, and losing him takes away the biggest reason why the Bulls look so much better now than in the regular season.
The Bulls have rebounded great all year. Butler had been playing out of his mind all year long. Rondo, on the other hand, has been inconsistent. Rondo gave the Bulls a glimpse of how much better they can be with him playing at this level and, without him, it is hard to imagine the Bulls repeating their performances from the first two games.
Next: Boston Celtics Week in Review
The Celtics know that the biggest thing is their players playing to their capabilities, but the Rondo injury certainly gives them more room for error than there had been.