Rajon Rondo benched for the second half as Bulls lose to Pacers

INDIANAPOLIS – There was a benching, a loss, and now Jimmy Butler wants to make sure that there’s no “drifting away.’’

That’s the state of Bulls basketball after the 111-101 loss to Indiana on Friday night. A loss in which the Bulls (16-17) fell behind by 14 points, leading to Fred Hoiberg benching veteran Rajon Rondo for the entire second half.

“We’re all in this together so we have to make sure [Rondo’s] mind is still with us,’’ Butler said afterwards. “We know his heart is going to be, but we don’t want anybody drifting away because something like that may happen. We just got to stay in his ear, make sure he’s constantly still about this team because we still need him out here if we’re going to win games.’’

Something that hasn’t come easy for this team, as they dropped to 3-7 in their last 10 games now.

It was the second time in a week that Hoiberg benched Rondo, as he also sat him the entire fourth quarter on Monday, and the coach again downplayed it as more of what Michael Carter-Williams was doing well rather than what Rondo wasn’t.

At the time of this latest benching, however, Rondo was scoreless and put up a minus-20 in the plus/minus category through the first two quarters.

“I’m a veteran,’’ Rondo said of the decision. “It’s not going to determine that I’m not going to work hard. I’m going to stay in the gym every day. Lead these guys when I can, talk to my teammates. Be a professional.’’

Asked if he was given an explanation from Hoiberg, Rondo replied, “Negative.’’

Asked if he wanted one he said, “It don’t have to be a big deal. He’s the coach. He and [assistant coach] Jim [Boylen] made some decisions and that’s the way it is.

“It’s not life and death. Life is too short to be unhappy, and it’s part of it. If I start [Saturday], great. If I don’t, as long as we get the win that’s all that matters.’’

Hoiberg wouldn’t commit to Rondo as a starter against Milwaukee, saying it was a decision that would be discussed.

Ames, Iowa, it’s not

Hoiberg is no stranger to being a rumor on the national landscape, but that was from his Iowa State coaching days, and the rumors involved his moving on.

Negative rumors like the one on Friday by ESPN that had him on the hot seat with the Bulls? That was new for Hoiberg.

“When I was at Iowa State, obviously we had a lot of success,’’ Hoiberg said, when asked if NBA coaches were inevitably hired to eventually be fired. “I don’t think you would think about going into a new position that you’re going to get the hot seat. It’s part of this game, part of this level, that if you go out there and struggle, which last year we had very high expectations, we didn’t live up to those, those rumors are going to happen. But you can’t worry about it.’’

Butler’s take on the hot seat rumors?

“He’s our head coach,’’ Butler said. “We go out there and play, we fight with him. That’s all we have man. That’s over my head. I just know he’s here and we want to continue to win games with and for him. He ain’t on the hot seat with me, though. Win games, everything’s good.’’