Today’s NBA all but forbids players with Rajon Rondo’s reputation and skill-set to make a living. It’s one thing to struggle as an outside shooter. It’s another to avoid every opportunity altogether and allow defenders to completely ignore you.

Throw his atrocious defense, lackadaisical decision-making, inability to score from just about anywhere else on the floor, and volatile temperament into a pot and watch it curdle. Rondo also turned 31 in February. The perennial All-Star appearances are a lifetime ago; his days as a dependable starting point guard are a distant memory.

After leading the league in assists last season, Rondo signed a two-year deal worth $27.4 million with the Chicago Bulls (only $3 million is guaranteed in 2018). It was a disastrous acquisition before he stepped on the floor. 

Rondo was predictably yanked from Fred Hoiberg’s rotation barely two months into the season. His minutes heading into the All-Star break were spotty, and his once-great-but-forever-mercurial career were spinning down the drain in front of our very eyes.

This might still be happening (it’s safe to bet that it is), but nobody’s surged since the All-Star break like Rondo. He made 25 threes in 1260 minutes before the break. Since, he’s knocked down 17, upping his percentage from 31.6 to 47.2. He’s 10-for-12 from the free throw line after looking like Andre Drummond between Halloween and Valentine’s Day.

Rondo’s terrific offensive play is most likely a blip—one that’s yet to positively impact the defensive end—but the Bulls are still benefiting from it in myriad ways. Chicago’s offensive rating with Rondo on the floor was 103.3 and now it’s 106.4, which ranks third on the team per NBA.com. Why? It helps when your point guard is making shots and threatening defenses. Rondo has reached the 20-point barrier just nine times since he signed with Sacramento. Two of those games are in the past 10 days.

But Rondo’s also starting to do vintage Rondo things. He’s one of three players since the All-Star break to average at least 10 points, three rebounds and six assists in under 30 minutes per game (the other two are Elfrid Payton and Nikola Jokic). Among all players who average at least seven drives per game, he has the eighth-best field goal percentage since the break. That’s wild for a player who couldn’t finish to save his life over the past couple seasons. He’s attacking the paint and kicking out to three-point shooters.

Since the All-Star break, the percentage of Chicago’s field-goal attempts that are corner threes rises by 4.2 percent when Rondo’s on the court. The percentage of their points that come from the mid-range is never higher than when he sits, per NBA.com. When Chicago’s franchise player Jimmy Butler shares the floor with Rondo, they perform like a top-10 offense. When Butler is without Rondo, the Bulls score 8.4 fewer points per 100 possessions, per NBA.com. (Bad enough to place below the 30th ranked Atlanta Hawks.)

What does any of this mean? Probably nothing meaningful. Rondo is a career 30.1 percent three-point shooter whose turnover percentage has eclipsed his usage rate in every stop since he left the Boston Celtics. He checks out on the defensive end, gambling and roaming in spots that hang his teammates out to dry. 

But for a Bulls team that no longer has Dwyane Wade vacuuming entire possessions out from under more effective options, Rondo might be the temporary salve this group needs—a flickering talent who can nudge Chicago back towards the playoffs. 

They’re 17-18 on the year when Rondo starts (including 3-3 in their last six games, with narrow road losses against the Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards) with a cakewalk schedule from here on out. Six of their remaining 10 games are against the Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, New York Knicks, and Orlando Magic. 

Even if they make the playoffs, it doesn’t mean Rondo should be viewed as an above-average point guard or even someone deserving of starter’s minutes going forward. The one-two punch of a shifting league and Father Time have already won that battle. But this stretch may just save Rondo’s career. Put the ball in his hands, surround him with shooters, and decent NBA offense can be yours—in limited minutes.

The fall from “NBA starter” to “former NBA player” can strike like a lightning bolt (see: Smith, Josh), and Rondo isn’t grizzled or patient enough for a mentorship role. The question then becomes: Will a good team that can use a backup point guard (the Cleveland Cavaliers, Wizards, and Los Angeles Clippers—assuming Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and J.J. Redick all stay—come to mind) be convinced he still has something left in the tank?

If he keeps playing like he has over the next few weeks, Rondo’s phone will ring this summer.