The Boston Celtics have been performing surprisingly well without All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo and will test their might when they take on the visiting Chicago Bulls Wednesday at 7:30 pm ET.
Watch Chicago Bulls vs. Boston Celtics live stream, click here.
Boston (27-24) had won seven in a row -- its longest streak in two seasons -- after losing Rondo to a torn right ACL on Jan. 27. That run ended Monday with a 94-91 road loss Charlotte, owner of the league's worst record.
Even worse, the Celtics lost Leandro Barbosa to a torn left ACL. The team announced Tuesday the backup guard, who has seen increased playing time since Rondo's injury, was done for the season.
Earlier this month, Boston lost first-round draft pick and reserve forward Jared Sullinger for the rest of 2012-13 because of lumbar disk surgery.
If any team can relate to Boston's injury woes, it's Chicago. The Bulls (30-21) have had every starter except Richard Hamilton out of action at various times over the past 3 1/2 weeks -- and Hamilton missed 12 December games with a foot sprain.
That list doesn't even include 2011 MVP Derrick Rose, who is still trying to come back from his own torn ACL. The Bulls were hopeful their point guard could be back after the All-Star break but while he didn't rule that out, Rose told USA Today in an interview posted Tuesday that he thought his return was "far away."
Making it worse on Chicago is that his replacement, Kirk Hinrich, has an ailing right elbow and has missed the past six contests. The Bulls have gone 2-4 in those games, which also includes games missed by Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer and key reserve Marco Belinelli.
The Boston Celtics have been performing surprisingly well without All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo and will test their might when they take on the visiting Chicago Bulls Wednesday at 7:30 pm ET.
Watch Chicago Bulls vs. Boston Celtics live stream, click here.
Boston (27-24) had won seven in a row -- its longest streak in two seasons -- after losing Rondo to a torn right ACL on Jan. 27. That run ended Monday with a 94-91 road loss Charlotte, owner of the league's worst record.
Even worse, the Celtics lost Leandro Barbosa to a torn left ACL. The team announced Tuesday the backup guard, who has seen increased playing time since Rondo's injury, was done for the season.
Earlier this month, Boston lost first-round draft pick and reserve forward Jared Sullinger for the rest of 2012-13 because of lumbar disk surgery.
If any team can relate to Boston's injury woes, it's Chicago. The Bulls (30-21) have had every starter except Richard Hamilton out of action at various times over the past 3 1/2 weeks -- and Hamilton missed 12 December games with a foot sprain.
That list doesn't even include 2011 MVP Derrick Rose, who is still trying to come back from his own torn ACL. The Bulls were hopeful their point guard could be back after the All-Star break but while he didn't rule that out, Rose told USA Today in an interview posted Tuesday that he thought his return was "far away."
Making it worse on Chicago is that his replacement, Kirk Hinrich, has an ailing right elbow and has missed the past six contests. The Bulls have gone 2-4 in those games, which also includes games missed by Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer and key reserve Marco Belinelli.
The Bulls are coming off Monday's 103-89 loss to visiting San Antonio, and they didn't help themselves by giving up 29 points off 19 turnovers. The miscues were their most since they had 21 in a 100-99 overtime win at Boston on Jan. 18, the most recent matchup between the teams.
The Bulls are coming off Monday's 103-89 loss to visiting San Antonio, and they didn't help themselves by giving up 29 points off 19 turnovers. The miscues were their most since they had 21 in a 100-99 overtime win at Boston on Jan. 18, the most recent matchup between the teams.