Do the Boston Celtics have a serious problem if Rajon Rondo is able to return in this series against the Chicago Bulls?
Ever since Rajon Rondo has been out, the Boston Celtics have been able to even the series against the Chicago Bulls. Some might say Rondo’s injury is the reason for the Celtics’ success recently. Others say it was more than Rondo’s injury that helped the Celtics win.
Whichever one you choose to believe, it’s has impacted this series in many ways. Much like how Isaiah Thomas‘ tragic loss of his sister, Chyna, affected the Celtics play.
Now with the Bulls in danger, the need for Rondo increases. There might actually be some hope for Bulls fans, as K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune first reported:
Hoiberg on Rondo: "His wrist tendon has quieted down a bit so decided to remove the cast. But he’s still in splint for his thumb and wrist."
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) April 24, 2017
If Rondo isn’t able to return in this series, the Bulls’ offense will more than likely look lost as they did in games 3 and 4. Chicago’s offense in the first two games of the series seemed to thrive under Rondo’s control. They averaged 108.5 points per game in games 1 and 2. In the last two games, the Bulls have lost their way when they lost Rondo, averaging only 91 points a game.
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The offense isn’t the only thing the Bulls have been slacking on. Their defense has been weakened at the guard position. Following Boston’s Game 4 win, Thomas told reporters, “Not one man can guard me.” Looking at his performance in Game 4, it’s hard to argue against that.
After the Bulls came back from a 20 point deficit to take the lead by 2, Thomas decided to take the game over completely. Thomas scored 10 points in part of their 12-0 run to regain the lead. There wasn’t a single player that could defend him as he blew by defenders constantly on his way to a 33 point performance and a win over the Bulls to tie the series at 2 a piece.
Coach of the Chicago Bulls, Fred Hoiberg, seems to think Thomas has an unfair advantage, as he voiced his opinion on how he thought Game 4 was officiated:
Thomas, on the other hand, disagrees with Hoiberg’s statement, saying “That’s not the reason why I’m an impossible cover, I’ve been dribbling that way my whole life.”
Beef aside, if Rondo would’ve never gotten injured, this series might be a whole different story. Losing Rondo means losing the team’s best defender not named Jimmy Butler. Having Rondo and Butler locking down 2 Celtics players is a nightmare for Boston, especially with one lethal scorer in Thomas. So that’s why when Rondo went down, the Celtics have been able to thrive offensively. With Rondo out, Butler doesn’t have the help defense he may need at times, giving another reason for Thomas to slice through the defense and maybe even kick it out for a 3-pointer for Gerald Green.
If Rondo is able to return, the Celtics road out of the first round just got a whole lot tougher. Hoiberg said even though their star point guard is out of a cast, he is still unlikely to play in Game 5 and it’s unclear if he’ll play at all. But hypothetically, if Rondo is tough enough (which we all know he is) and the Bulls are in desperation mode, he might actually play.
With the Celtics headed to Boston for Game 5, they now have control of the series again. Should the Celtics win on Wednesday night, they will be up 3-2 on the Bulls, which ultimately leads to desperation mode for Chicago.
Next: Maybe the Celtics can Win this Series vs Bulls
It’s hard to believe Celtics would just lay down and give the Bulls the series right back just because Rondo could play in Game 6. It would have to take a substantial collapse for Boston to blow a 3-2 series lead with having home-court advantage back. But with how odd this series has been, you never know what could happen.