NEW YORK — The Bulls again were without veteran Rajon Rondo on Saturday against the Nets, so coach Fred Hoiberg went with a point guard-by-committee.
Hoiberg said Rondo’s sprained right wrist was improving, but he still had enough stiffness in it to keep him out for a second consecutive game.
‘‘[He’s] feeling a little better, but [he] still has a lot of stiffness in that wrist,’’ Hoiberg said. ‘‘We’ll get in [Sunday] for a treatment and a practice day, and hopefully he’ll be able to do a little bit more and get him back here soon.’’
Rondo said he has been able to dribble the last few days, but he hasn’t been able to shoot. After he can resume shooting, Rondo will have to go through a full practice to see how useful he would be on the court.
The Bulls’ next game is Monday against the Magic, but Hoiberg wasn’t going to speculate about Rondo’s status.
‘‘Not sure yet,’’ Hoiberg said. ‘‘Not quite there yet.’’
Jerian Grant started his second consecutive game in place of Rondo and scored 15 points, but Jimmy Butler handled most of the point-guard duties.
Brotherly love
Bulls center Robin Lopez has no idea how many interviews he has done through the years about playing alongside or against twin brother Brook, who plays center for the Nets.
‘‘Infinite,’’ Lopez said.
But what might get old for the brothers is something Robin still embraces.
‘‘I’m used to it,’’ Robin said of talking about the sibling rivalry. ‘‘Obviously, it’s typical stuff for me because I grew up with it. But even with the amount of brothers that are in the league right now, it’s an incredibly special thing.’’
So what’s the talk like between the two on the floor? Nonexistent.
‘‘Brook and I are pretty competitive,’’ Robin said. ‘‘We don’t really acknowledge each other when we’re on the floor. It’s something organically that happened, something natural.’’
High praise
Nets coach Kenny Atkinson was effusive in his praise of Butler.
‘‘He’s one of those guys with a big-time chip on his shoulder,’’’ Atkinson said. ‘‘I think there’s some guys that come into this league and aren’t thrilled with where they were picked, and that seems to be the thing with those type of guys.
‘‘To me, he is one of those ‘power threes,’ we call them. There’s only a few teams that have them. Those guys are really the toughest to match up with in the league. He can go inside, he can go outside and he can play pick-and-roll, so he’s got the whole package.’’
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Email: jcowley@suntimes.com
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