The Chicago Bulls made a surprising announcement Friday afternoon, ruling former Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo out for that night’s game against his old team.
Now, another ex-Celtic wants to take his place.
Nate Robinson, who played for both the Celtics and the Bulls during his NBA career, volunteered his services on Instagram ahead of Game 3 of the teams’ first-round playoff series.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BTJwgs3gSx0/
Sure, Robinson might be a bit past his prime now, but the one season he spent with the Bulls was one of the best of his career. He appeared in all 82 games for Chicago in 2012-13, starting 23 and averaging 13.1 points and 4.4 assists per game.
Nowadays, the 5-foot-9 32-year-old plays for the Guaros de Lara in Venezuela’s Liga Profesional de Baloncesto.
While Robinson isn’t the answer (sorry, Nate), the Bulls will need to find someone to replicate Rondo’s production while the point guard recovers from a fractured thumb. Rondo lit up TD Garden in Games 1 and 2, averaging 11.5 points, 10 assists, 8.5 rebounds and 3.5 steals as Chicago took a 2-0 series lead over the top-seeded Celtics.
With Rondo out indefinitely, second-year pro Jerian Grant is expected to start at point guard Friday night in Game 3, with Michael Carter-Williams also seeing time at the position.
Grant has played 27 minutes in the series, scoring six points on 2-of-9 shooting and dishing out four assists. Carter-Williams played just four minutes in Game 2 and didn’t see the floor at all in Game 1.
Thumbnail photo via Steve Mitchell/USA TODAY Sports Images
