Presence of Rondo, Wade add interest to Bulls playoff matchup
There could be a few interesting storylines in the upcoming Bulls-Celtics playoff series.
One place to start is Rajon Rondo, who appeared in 92 playoff games while wearing a Boston uniform. With Rondo running the point, the Celtics won a championship in 2008 and went back to the Finals in 2010.
Asked about the connection after Wednesday's win over Brooklyn, Rondo responded with his typical stone-faced nonchalance.
"I'm with the Bulls now; I just want to go out there and win," Rondo said. "My only focus is to get the win."
If anyone is ready to handle the playoff atmosphere at TD Garden, it should be Rondo. He averaged 14.5 points and 9.2 assists in playoff games for the Celtics.
"I mean, it's gonna be crazy. The fans are some of the best I've ever seen, especially at this time of the year," Rondo said. "We've got to be ready. It's still going to be basketball at the end of the day, but we have to play a game with minimum mistakes and go out there and see what we can do."
During his playoff days with Boston, one of Rondo's fiercest rivals was Miami's Dwyane Wade. The Celtics and Heat locked up in the playoffs for three consecutive years from 2010-12.
The 2012 Eastern Conference finals, which lasted seven games, was interesting. Rondo suffered an ugly hyperextended elbow after getting tangled up with Wade and came back to play in the next game.
"This time I have Rondo on my side instead of playing against him," Wade said. "We are going to lean on him a lot for his leadership."
Twice, Wade averaged 30 points in a playoff series against Rondo's Celtics. Wade contributed 33.2 points and 6.8 assists in a first-round loss to Boston in 2010, the final games before Miami's successful quest to bring LeBron James to South Beach.
This is a 1 vs. 8 playoff series, but the presence of a couple playoff-tested veterans gives the Bulls a unique characteristic. Wade won three NBA titles before joining the Bulls last summer.
Just last season, Wade, 35, was able to deliver a strong playoff performance. He averaged 23.9 points in a seven-game, second-round series against Toronto and shot 50 percent from 3-point range.
"As a player, 14 years, I think I've been in 12 playoffs, this is what I play for and this is what I enjoy," Wade said.
Once the matchup became official Wednesday night, the Bulls talked about how their last visit to Boston helped turn the season around. Playing a nationally televised game on Mar. 12, the Bulls fell behind 13-0, scored a season-low 9 points in the first quarter and lost by 20.
Wade talked about approaching coach Fred Hoiberg after that game and suggesting Rondo and Nikola Mirotic return to the starting lineup.
"It was a big moment for this team," Wade said. "For me, just being a leader and going to talk to coach and watching film with him and telling him a few things I saw and understanding if we were going to make the playoffs, we needed those guys. We needed Niko and we needed Rondo. Coach obviously made a decision on what needed to be done and that's the reason we're in the postseason for sure."
Rondo started the next game, a win at Charlotte, while Mirotic started his late surge with 24 points. Even though Wade went down with an elbow injury two days later, the Bulls finished the season with a 9-4 record.
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