Rondo ( wrist) misses third consecutive game
Veteran point guard Rajon Rondo remained out of the Bulls’ lineup Monday with what coach Fred Hoiberg said is a significant injury.
Rondo suffered a sprained right wrist last Tuesday against the New York Knicks and missed his third consecutive game against the Orlando Magic. Whether he will be ready to play in the regular- season finale Wednesday against the Brooklyn Nets is undetermined.
After Hoiberg called the injury significant, a Bulls spokesman said the sprain isn’t worse than originally thought.
‘‘ If there was any way Rajon could be out there, he would,’’ Hoiberg said. ‘‘ He wants to be out there as bad as anybody, especially with the way he was playing. He is as responsible as anybody for the recent success we had when he was out there on the floor.’’
Jerian Grant started in Rondo’s place for the third game in a row.
Rondo, who wasn’t available for comment, visited a hand specialist earlier in the day and didn’t participate in the Bulls’ shootaround. Hoiberg said Rondo still has swelling in the wrist.
Rondo was scheduled to work out late Monday and hopes to be able to shoot again Tuesday, when the Bulls will re- evaluate the injury.
‘‘ He has made improvements,’’ Hoiberg said. ‘‘ But it’s a matter of how he feels moving forward.’’
Rondo said last week that he planned to return before the Bulls were done playing, but he didn’t specify whether he was referring to the regular season or the playoffs.
The Bulls’ second unit isn’t the same without Rondo, who is averaging 6.7 assists. Hoiberg said the Bulls had established a pace with Rondo thatwas in line with the style he prefers to play.
Without Rondo in the rotation, though, the Bulls have struggled with pace and spacing. That has led to some bad possessions.
‘‘ We have to try to get back to that as much as we can with Rajon out of the lineup,’’ Hoiberg said. ‘‘ We have to keep our spacing and trust and make a play when it’s there to get a good shot on the board every time.’’
Resting up
The Cleveland Cavaliers elected to rest stars LeBron James and Kyrie Irving on Monday against the Miami Heat.
Commissioner Adam Silver said after the recent owners’ meetings that the NBA is looking for ways to limit how much teams rest healthy players. League play will begin a week earlier next season in an effort to cut down on the number of back- to- back games teams play.
Hoiberg said he understands why playoff- bound teams such as the Cavaliers rest players as the regular season winds down, but he’s not certain what the solution is beyond starting the season earlier.
‘‘ Hopefully [ starting earlier] helps,’’ he said. ‘‘ But I’ll be interested to see how it all plays out.’’