Bulls Notes: Vucevic, Defense, White, LaVine

Zach LaVine and Torrey Craig are already sidelined indefinitely by injuries. Bulls starting center Nikola Vucevic will now miss some games due to a strained left groin, coach Billy Donovan told NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson and other media members.

Vučević had appeared in every game so far this season after not missing a single contest in 2022/23. The team is hopeful that his absence is in the range of four-to-10 days.

“A lot of it is going to be how he responds to rehab,” Donovan said. “He obviously was pretty sore after (Saturday’s) game and obviously over Christmas. He came in (Tuesday) for treatment.”

We have more on the Bulls:

• The Bulls’ defense had improved during their 8-4 stretch, prior to Tuesday’s matchup against the Hawks. During the 12-game span, they had a defensive rating of 113.4, sixth-best in the NBA. Chicago finished fifth in defensive rating last season. “It’s amazing what happens in basketball when you box out, don’t foul, don’t turn the ball over, get back in transition,” guard Alex Caruso said. “You tend to win ballgames.”
• Coby White is having a career year across the board and he has become a focal point for opposing defenses. Donovan is impressed with how White is handling the added attention, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times writes. “He’s been guarded by a lot of different really good defenders, but I think the one thing that Coby has been able to do besides the scoring piece is he’s been able to play for his teammates, getting into the paint, doing other things, and maybe figuring out how he’s being guarded, how the game is going, and where he can kind of inject himself,” Donovan said.
• As for LaVine, Donovan said he’s started “light cutting” as of Tuesday, Johnson tweets. Thursday marks three weeks of the estimated three-to-four week timeline until he’s re-evaluated. He’s dealing with inflammation in his right foot.