Chicago Bulls Rajon Rondo Still Out for Game 5
Although Chicago Bulls point guard Rajon Rondo has already removed the cast from his thumb and wrist injury, he still will not be able to play come Game 5 .
"I'm not sure how long I'll be out. I plan on my body healing pretty quickly. The doctors told me a couple weeks, but we'll see how it goes," Rondo said in a previous interview with ESPN.
Rondo suffered a thumb injury during the second half of Game 2, when his hand got caught upon getting the ball from Boston Celtics' Al Horford.
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"I think it was an inbound pass over to Horford," he said. "And I swiped up to make a play on the ball, and I knew right then and there there was something wrong with my thumb," Rondo continued to explain.
Despite the pain, Rondo continued to play and finished the game. It was not until Thursday, April 20, when he decided to get an X-ray, since his "finger was blue."
Prior to that, Rondo also suffers from a wrist injury during the last week of the regular season, which eventually caused him to miss three games.
Meanwhile, it was not easy for the Chicago Bulls who went against the Boston Celtics again during Game 3 on Friday, April 21. Rondo stayed on the bench, watching his teammates play. They eventually lost to the Celtics - with a final tally of 104-87.
During said game, Rondo was accused of attempting to trip Celtics forward Jae Crowder, just as the latter retreated after making a 3-point shot. The attempt was said to occur during the last 31.1 seconds of the first quarter, but Rondo denied this, saying that while he does stretch his legs out at some points of the game, Crowder might have just been too close to their bench. Nonetheless, the Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations, Kiki VanDeWeghe, announced on April 23 that Rondo has been penalized for the incident with a fine of $25,000.
The team lost Game 4 to the Celtics as well, with a score 104-95. This brought their series to a tie.
As to when Rondo can play again for the Bulls, that remains uncertain. Although he has replaced the cast with a soft splint, he still won't be able to play in this Wednesday's Game 5.
"He wants to play bad," a source told ESPN on Tuesday. "As of right now, it's still tender and he's erring on the side of waiting until Game 6."
Game 5 between the Chicago Bulls and the Boston Celtics is set to be played this Wednesday, April 26, at 8:30 p.m. EDT.
