Rajon Rondo believes the Bulls’ first-round matchup would have ended a lot differently if not for his injury.
Rondo missed the last four games of the first round because of a fractured thumb, but believes Chicago would have beat the Celtics had he been healthy enough to compete. In fact, Rondo believes the Bulls, who won the first two games in Boston before losing four consecutive while he was sidelined, would have swept the Celtics had he remained in the lineup.
“Honestly, yeah,” Rondo said during an appearance on TNT’s “Inside the NBA” on Monday night when asked if the Bulls would have completed the sweep.
Not being able to play led to some major frustration for Rondo, who was not wearing a splint or cast on his thumb during the TV appearance.
“It was very frustrating, especially the way we were clicking at the time,” Rondo said. “We had a good chemistry going and I thought we were some making great adjustments in Games 1 and 2.”
With Rondo out of the lineup, the Bulls struggled to find any rhythm on offense, dropping the final four games to the No. 1-seeded Celtics by an average of 14.8 points.
Big Baby, Perk, Pierce, Rondo & KG join the #InsidetheNBA crew from #KGArea21 to talk Finals, @celtics, retirement & more! @MyStraightTalk pic.twitter.com/wxIzTVOkeU
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 9, 2017
