Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said "nothing has changed" regarding Rajon Rondo's status for Friday's Game 6 _ and beyond? _ with his fractured right thumb.
"Rajon most likely will come in (Thursday night) and work out," Hoiberg said on a conference call with reporters after landing from Boston. "But like we talked about (Wednesday), it's still a longshot that he's back on the court, at least in this series."
But at least the rotation roulette that has defined his point guard replacement has stopped.
Isaiah Canaan, he of the team-leading 29 "Did Not Play, Coach's Decision" designations, is the Bulls' starter.
"Isaiah has done a great job of keeping himself prepared," Hoiberg said. "We like his ability to pickup fullcourt."
Canaan did about as well as an individual defender can do on Isaiah Thomas, who shot 1-for-10 from 3-point land and didn't get fully cooking until the fourth quarter. That's when Thomas scored 11 of his 24 points.
"I take my defense any day of the week," Canaan said. "Their bigs did a good job in the second half of adjusting their screens and hitting me, making it tough for me to get back in front of him. I had success in the first half of staying in front and making every shot tough. Every shot was tough in the second half as well. He just was able to get to the free-throw line a couple times."
Despite Canaan's low profile during the regular season, his teammates weren't surprised.
"Isaiah did a great job. We see that in practice," Robin Lopez said. "He had some big minutes. I know he's going to do another great job next game."
