10:10am: Rondo won’t play in Game 5, he confirmed this morning to reporters, admitting that he still can’t do much with injured thumb (Twitter links via K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune). His potential availability for Game 6 remains up in the air.
9:29am: Rajon Rondo has missed just two games since suffering a fractured thumb in Game 2 of the Bulls’ first round series against the Celtics. However, the veteran point guard is anxious to return and participated in a late-night workout on Tuesday to assess whether he’s healthy enough to get back on the court for Game 5, per Marc Stein and Marc Spears of ESPN.com.
According to the ESPN duo, Rondo held the session to test both his thumb and his ailing right wrist in an effort to get a sense of whether a comeback for Game 5 is feasible. Shams Charania of The Vertical suggests there’s a belief around Rondo and the Bulls that a Game 5 return isn’t out of the question, but both ESPN and The Vertical suggest no final determination will be made until closer to game time.
“He wants to play bad,” a source close to Rondo told ESPN on Tuesday night. “As of right now, it’s still tender and he’s erring on the side of waiting until Game 6. But knowing him, he could change his mind in the morning and try to play.”
We heard earlier on Tuesday that Rondo had been ruled out for Game 5, with head coach Fred Hoiberg suggesting that even a Game 6 return was a “long shot,” so it seems that the point guard is attempting to force the issue.
The Bulls looked like a different team in the first two games of the series with Rondo leading the way. The former Celtic averaged 11.5 PPG, 10.0 APG, 8.5 RPG, and 3.5 SPG in the Bulls’ two victories in Boston. With the series now tied at two games apiece, Chicago would love to get Rondo back in the lineup, but it remains to be seen how effective he can be, even if he’s able to play.
In Rondo’s absence, Jerian Grant and Michael Carter-Williams have struggled. The Bulls are expected to start Isaiah Canaan at the point in Game 5 is Rondo remains on the shelf.