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Report: Rondo held secret workout to test thumb for possible Game 5 return

Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports / Action Images

Chicago Bulls point guard Rajon Rondo is preparing to attempt to play in Game 5 against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night, The Vertical's Shams Charania reports.

Rondo has missed the past two games of the first-round series with a broken right thumb suffered last Friday. The injury was supposed to sideline him for a couple weeks, but this is the same Rondo who once returned to finish a game in which he dislocated his elbow, and who played an entire fourth quarter with a torn ACL.

Rondo, who has also been dealing with a right wrist injury, has reportedly been working on shooting with his left hand (per Vincent Goodwill of CSN Chicago), with ESPN's Marc Stein and Marc Spears reporting the four-time All-Star went through a workout Tuesday night in Boston to test the thumb and wrist on his shooting arm.

"‎He wants to play bad," a source close to Rondo was cited as saying. "As of right now, it's still tender and he's erring on the side of waiting until Game 6. But knowing him, he could change his mind in the morning and try to play."

The former Celtic torched his old team in the first two games of the series, averaging 11.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 10 assists, and 3.5 steals as the Bulls won both road contests to take a 2-0 lead back to Chicago. Without Rondo, they dropped both home games to cede home-court advantage back to Boston in what's now a best-of-three.

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