Bulls guard Zach LaVine may test his surgically repaired left knee Sunday by playing in consecutive games, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. LaVine has sat out four games this season, with three of them coming on the first night of back-to-backs. He only logged 26 minutes in Saturday’s rout of the Mavericks, so there’s a chance he’ll be ready for today’s game at Atlanta.
“A lot of this will depend on how he feels coming out of this game, the flight, Sunday morning,” coach Billy Donovan said after Saturday’s win. “… Certainly it’s on the table for him to play. I think as I mentioned, he wants to play. That’s always his mentality. We’ll get feedback from him, the medical guys, and then go from there.’’
Cowley notes that the team has another back-to-back coming up next week as part of a stretch with four games in six days, so more last-minute decisions on LaVine will lie ahead. LaVine has been on a hot streak lately, averaging close to 30 PPG over his last three games, and may want to keep playing to avoid disrupting his rhythm.
There’s more from Chicago:
- Alex Caruso didn’t return Saturday after suffering a lower back bruise in the first quarter, Cowley adds. Caruso recently moved into the starting lineup, but the coaching staff is still trying to limit his playing time to reduce the chance of injury because of his aggressive style. “We’re trying to get him off [the floor] a little bit earlier and be conscientious of his minutes and what it looks like at the end of the game,’’ Donovan said. “But I think he’s done a nice job with that [starting] group.’’
- Andre Drummond has the league’s best rebounding rate per 36 minutes, but his playing time has declined as Donovan tinkers with his rotation, Cowley notes in a separate story. Drummond, who signed with Chicago in free agency over the summer and is with his sixth team in the past three years, is being patient with the situation. “My job is to do whatever it takes to help this team win, whether it’s playing 15 or playing 30 minutes,” he said. “I said this before, earlier in the year — anyone who knows basketball and has seen me play knows what I’m capable of doing in 30-plus minutes. But that’s not what this team is asking of me. It’s to come off the bench, be a spark any way I can and try and help them win games. That’s what I have to accept.’’
- Ayo Dosunmu talked to NBC Sports Chicago about how he’s adjusting after being moved back to the second unit (video link).
Drummond is pretty underrated. I’m aware of his flaws but think he’d be just as effective in place of Valanciunas or Adams in NOLA or Memphis. He’s just always played on bad teams that ask too much of him on the offensive end. If he just focused on rebounding, screen setting and defense he’d be a legitimate starting 5.
sounds like he should be included in a trade to GS for wiseman :D
Stop it! Drummond has always been an elite rebounder. It is not a coincidence why he has been on 5 different teams in the past 2 years.
Vucevic has decent appeal for an expiring contract. I’m not sure Chicago can add much help, and cover for losing Vucevic in a trade though. Plus, they have no 2023 pick without seriously tanking & a lot of luck. Drummond is not a solution defensively in Chicago. Things could get far worse if Drummond is starting, or playing 30 minutes a night.
What did I just read?
Drummond is not Good. At many things that Vucevic does marginally better. That clear?
He is one of the best rebounders in the game and has always been.
If it was possible to play Vooch at PF and Andre at Center then let see how that works, but I am unsure if Vooch can play PF and not get burn.
As I have said many times the Bulls needed a legitimate PF and didn’t need LaVine and the makeup of this team isn’t going far in the playoffs, so might as well blow the team up.
For the dinky number of minutes Drummond is being used and his 3.2 mil salary, Boston should have pounced on him over the off season with Time Lord being an uncertainty health-wise and Horford aging (but still doing well)
Drummond can rebound. Vuc is a good rebounder too, not on Drummonds level maybe, but he plays more than 20 minutes a game consistently the last 3 seasons. Vuc doesn’t play PF, and he is also limited like Drummond, but his overall skill-set is more polished & refined, definitely a better shooter. I think you are right about the blow up because it doesn’t look like the trading of 1 player is gonna do much to change the trajectory in Chicago. probably gonna have to make several moves to maneuver out of this spot, and maybe that will include taking steps backwards