This Thursday, the Chicago Bulls will try again to make it into the NBA Playoffs, but without one more rotation member because forward Torrey Craig damaged his knee and will be out for at least two weeks. Bulls coach Billy Donovan’s rotation will once more be subject to change as a result of this regrettable situation.
The Bulls have struggled with injuries this season, missing significant amounts of play for extended periods of time and losing important players like Zach LaVine. Due to this, Donovan is now forced to rely mostly on his still-healthy players, who are all playing more than 30 minutes a night, including Nikola Vucevic, Coby White, and DeMar DeRozan.
Donovan understands, nevertheless, that the team’s long-term success cannot depend on this intense workload. He said on Tuesday that they have to locateCome up with a solution quickly.
In terms of minutes played per game, DeRozan leads the league with 37.7, followed closely by White at 36.3. Young guard Ayo Dosunmu, who has filled in for Williams, has played more over 33 minutes per game in his previous 13 games, while Vucevic is averaging over 34 minutes per game.
However, Donovan will need to get inventive in order to find methods to give his star players more rest without losing victories, as the Bulls’ injury list keeps growing.
Donovan remarked, “I don’t know if we can keep doing what we’ve been doing,” in reference to the workload that some of his rotation players were carrying.
“In the future, there will be some things we need to work out.”It’s unclear what Donovan can do to give his core players a break. One approach would be to play more of their double-big combo of Andre Drummond and Nikola Vucevic, but that could backfire if the opposition has a smaller, quicker lineup. Another approach would be to play younger players, such as rookie Julian Phillips and Dalen Terry, but that approach would also have its limitations because, despite their potential to provide energy and fresh legs, they lack the experience and consistency that comes with playing under duress.The Bulls’ final realistic choice is to add a player from the buyout market. Danilo Gallinari has reportedly committed to signing with the Milwaukee Bucks, while Donovan acknowledged having a conversation with the Italian. The Bulls have few options, so they have to think carefully about what to do next.
