Rajon Rondo Says Bulls Would Have Swept Celtics If He Hadn't Injured Thumb

The Chicago Bulls went 2-0 against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden in Round 1 of the 2017 NBA playoffs when Rajon Rondo was healthy.          

But after Rondo suffered a fractured thumb that forced him out of action for the remainder of the series, the Celtics ripped off four straight wins and booked a trip to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. 

Asked Monday evening during an episode of TNT's Area 21 if he believed the Bulls would have swept the Celtics had he been healthy, Rondo didn't hesitate to exude confidence in his capabilities. 

"Honestly, yeah," he said when asked about the hypothetical sweep, according to CSN Chicago. 

"It was very frustrating, especially the way we were clicking at the time. We had a good chemistry going, and I thought we were making great adjustments."

A No. 8 seed sweeping a No. 1 seed would have been stunning, to say the least, but there is reason to believe the Bulls could have defeated the Celtics in some capacity with a healthy Rondo. 

According to NBA.com's lineup data, the Bulls outscored the Celtics by 14.5 points per 100 possessions in Games 1 and 2 when Rondo was on the floor. But when he was on the bench over the course of six games, the Bulls were outscored by 12.7 points per 100 possessions. 

	Offensive Rating	Defensive Rating	Net Rating
Rondo On Court	114.0	99.4	+14.5
Rondo Off Court	99.1	111.8	-12.7

That's a whopping 27.2-point swing that may have prevented the Bulls from making an improbable run to Round 2. 

However, now the Bulls have to regroup and decide if they want to tear things down or try to wedge their way into contention in the Eastern Conference again. 

As for Rondo, the 31-year-old floor general figures to be back in the Windy City after Bulls vice president of basketball operations John Paxson told reporters there is "a really good chance" the team will bring Rondo back, according to the Chicago Tribune's K.C. Johnson.