Just when you think Lady Luck has turned the Bulls' way, something Bulls-like happens.
Rajon Rondo will be out indefinitely with a right thumb fracture, the team announced hours before Game 3 of the Bulls' first-round playoff series with the Celtics.
Rondo apparently suffered the injury during Game 2 of the Bulls' win over the Celtics on Tuesday at TD Garden, and though surgery isn't needed, there is no timetable for a return.
Rondo didn't appear to have any ill effects right after Game 2, not wearing any wrap or protective covering on his thumb, so it's unclear when the injury occurred.
Either way, it's a devastating blow in a series that began so promising for the Bulls, who lead 2-0 and have a chance to put an improbable stronghold on the matchup Friday night at the United Center.
Rondo was the catalyst for the Bulls against his former team, even going as far as telling his teammates in the fourth quarter that the Celtics were quitting.
Now it's the Bulls who must find resolve and adjust on the fly without their floor leader, who re-emerged in the last month as the starting point guard and helped lead a late surge to the playoffs.
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The Bulls will have to rely on Jerian Grant and Michael Carter-Williams at the actual position, but one would think Jimmy Butler will take on the bulk of ball-handling responsibilities in the meantime.
The Bulls still have the next two games at home this weekend, but the optimism has certainly dimmed considerably as Rondo was clearly the team's most critical player next to Butler.