- The Bulls have now lost eight of their last 10 games, dropping a 129-102 decision to the Suns on Friday, Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic writes. Chicago (41-29) ranks fifth in the Eastern Conference with 12 games left in the season. “It’s just snowballing downhill,” star guard DeMar DeRozan said. The Bulls were first in the conference standings just three weeks ago.
- Bulls coach Billy Donovan says Lonzo Ball has been experiencing discomfort in his rehab, according to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. “He has not responded,” Donovan said. “There’s no setbacks. It’s still the same thing. He has not been able to do anything full speed. And anytime we get him close to that, there’s discomfort. So I think they’re going to probably at least look at, you know, ‘Do you back off and let him rest for a little bit and see if that helps?’” Johnson notes that Friday marked seven weeks since Ball underwent surgery to repair the torn meniscus in his left knee, and given his lack of progress, it seems highly unlikely he’ll return in the six-to-eight week recovery timetable Chicago originally provided. Donovan said there’s been no talk of Ball missing the remainder of the season, but the team is still determining the next steps in his recovery process.
- On a more positive note, Donovan said Patrick Williams has been a full participant in G League practices with the Windy City Bulls, with no setbacks. He also said there was a “very real” possibility that Williams could return to action versus Toronto on Monday or Milwaukee on Tuesday, Johnson tweets. Williams has been targeting a return next week; he’s been out since October due to wrist surgery.
Bulls guard Alex Caruso admits he’s still not 100 percent healthy yet after returning from a fractured right wrist that sidelined him for 22 games, according to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago.
“It just gets hit, banged up a little bit. There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s just sore. It’s just going to take time,” Caruso said. “We took a very aggressive rehab schedule and ramp-up schedule so I could get back with the team and try to play. It just kind of comes with the territory.
“I’m not 100 percent. I’m not going to lie to you. But it’s moreso just the rhythm of the game. Try not to make excuses, but that seven weeks is tough. I didn’t get any practices or anything. Just right back in the game. I got high standards for how I want to play, how I want the team to play. And I don’t think I’m doing my part as well I can right now, which is frustrating.”
Johnson notes the Bulls were a strong defensive team at the beginning of the season with both Caruso and Lonzo Ball healthy, but have slipped to 18th in the league in defensive rating following their injuries. The Bulls are just 2-7 in their last nine games, including consecutive road losses in Sacramento and Utah, where they gave up 112 and 125 points, respectively.
At 41-28, the Bulls are currently the fifth seed in the East. They have a difficult remaining schedule, with 11 of their last 13 games against teams vying for the play-in or the playoffs.
Here are a few more notes from the Central Division:
- DeMar DeRozan‘s influence on the Bulls is similar to the way Chris Paul has impacted winning throughout his career, Johnson writes in a separate article for NBC Sports Chicago. Coach Billy Donovan has coached both players and compared their leadership qualities. “They’re two totally different players, two totally different people,” Donovan said. “But the impact that Chris made that I saw in Oklahoma and now seeing the impact that DeMar made, you can just see how they’ve kind of galvanized the group and they’ve got everybody together. It’s because of how humble they are, how team-oriented they are, how competitive they are and how much they both want to win.” For his part, DeRozan says he’s just focused on the grind. “I try to be the same person every day and carry that over to my teammates and to my work,” DeRozan said. “That’s how I lead.”
- Kelsey Russo of The Athletic details how Caris LeVert has been acclimating to the Cavaliers. LeVert, who recently returned from a nine-game absence after suffering a sprained foot, admits it was difficult dealing with the injury, but he’s enjoying his time in Cleveland. “It’s been fun for me, to be honest with you,” LeVert said. “I try to look at it as a positive challenge for me; it’s just getting better. I know we’re playing for something, playing for the playoffs or playing for a championship. So that’s what gets me going in every morning.”
- Second-year forward Saddiq Bey helped the Pistons snap a four-game losing streak on Thursday by scoring a career-high 51 points, writes Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press. Bey became the seventh Piston to score 50-plus in a game and tied Hall of Famer Joe Dumars‘ franchise record with 10 threes made (on 14 attempts), Sankofa notes. Bey finished with an eye-popping 51 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and three steals on 17-of-27 shooting in the team’s 134-120 victory over Orlando.
For the rest of the regular season and postseason, Hoops Rumors is taking a closer look at players who will be free agents or could become free agents this offseason. We consider whether their stock is rising or falling due to their performance and other factors. Today, we’re focusing on a handful of Central players.
Zach LaVine, G, Bulls
2021/22: $19.5MM
2022/23: UFA
Stock: Up ⬆️
LaVine is dealing with a knee injury that has diminished his explosiveness, but it hasn’t slowed him down too significantly — he hasn’t scored fewer than 20 points in a game since the All-Star break, and he’s coming off a 33-point showing in Utah on Wednesday.
While the injury is a short-term concern that may need to be addressed surgically in the summer, there’s no reason to believe at this point that it will be a nagging issue in future seasons. LaVine is still significantly outperforming his current contract and is in line for a maximum-salary deal this summer, likely with the Bulls.
Collin Sexton, G, Cavaliers
2021/22: $6.35MM
2022/23: RFA
Stock: Down ⬇️
Sexton is also dealing with a knee injury, but it’s more serious than LaVine’s. The Cavaliers guard appeared in only 11 games before meniscus surgery sidelined him for the remainder of the season.
The fact that Sexton averaged 24.3 PPG with an efficient .475/.371/.815 shooting line in 2020/21 shouldn’t be overlooked, but there are a number of factors working against him. With Darius Garland and Caris LeVert under contract for next season and Sexton entering restricted free agency in an offseason when few teams will have cap room, the Cavs will have plenty of leverage in negotiations. Concerns about Sexton’s knee and his defense may further limit his ability to secure a significant raise.
An eight-figure annual salary is still certainly within reach for Sexton, but a payday in the $80-100MM range no longer looks like a good bet.
Bobby Portis, F/C, Bucks
2021/22: $4.35MM
2022/23: $4.56MM player option
Stock: Up ⬆️
Portis raised some eyebrows when he settled for a two-year, $9MM deal with the Bucks in 2021, giving the club a “hometown” discount after winning a title in Milwaukee. That agreement included a second-year player option, so Portis has the opportunity to revisit the open market in 2022. At this point, it’s hard to imagine he won’t take advantage of that opportunity.
With Brook Lopez out for much of the season, Portis has been thrust into a larger frontcourt role and has responded with a career year, averaging 15.3 PPG and 9.1 RPG on .484/.405/.752 shooting in 61 games (28.9 MPG). He’ll have Early Bird rights this time around, putting him in a better spot to get a raise from the Bucks, who shouldn’t expect the 27-year-old to once again accept a team-friendly rate.
Cory Joseph, G, Pistons
2021/22: $4.91MM
2022/23: $5.16MM player option
Stock: Up ⬆️
The Pistons have been one of the NBA’s worst teams since the start of the season, and any national attention they’ve gotten has focused primarily on Cade Cunningham, Saddiq Bey, and the rest of their young core. Their 30-year-old journeyman point guard shouldn’t be overlooked though — Joseph is enjoying one of the best seasons of his career in Detroit this season, averaging 8.1 PPG and 3.8 APG with a career-best .423 3PT% in 59 games (24.8 MPG).
Joseph may be happy with the Pistons and not interested in seeking a change of scenery. But if he decides to opt out this summer, he should certainly be able to earn a raise, perhaps from a team much closer to title contention.
T.J. Warren, F, Pacers
2021/22: $12.69MM
2022/23: UFA
Stock: Down ⬇️
Having officially been ruled out for the rest of 2021/22, Warren will enter unrestricted free agency having played just four games in the last two seasons due to foot injuries. It’s been an unfortunate run for the veteran forward, who had a great 2019/20 season and looked like one of the NBA’s very best scorers in the Walt Disney World bubble that summer.
What Warren has gone through is reminiscent of what happened to another former Pacer, Victor Oladipo, following his breakout years in Indiana. Oladipo battled leg injuries for two seasons and ultimately settled for a minimum-salary contract when he became a free agent.
Unlike Oladipo last year, Warren should be healthy when he reaches the open market this summer. But given how little teams have seen from him over the last two years, he may not be able to do a whole lot better than the minimum deal Oladipo got.
Forward Patrick Williams is targeting a return to the Bulls next week, as Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. Chicago assigned Williams to its G League affiliate, the Windy City Bulls, on Thursday afternoon. Williams has been sidelined since October following wrist surgery.
It was reported last night that Williams had been cleared for full contact work. The plan is for Williams to get reps in with Windy City prior to his NBA return next week.
Coach Billy Donovan said that Monday’s home game against Toronto was an unlikely return date for Williams, per K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link). The Bulls also have three road games next week – Tuesday at Milwaukee, Thursday at New Orleans, and Saturday at Cleveland – so any of those contests are possibilities for Williams’ return.
Donovan said last month that there was a “very good possibility” that Williams would return in the regular season, so the second-year forward appears to be on track in his recovery progress. The coach plans to ease Williams back into the rotation, meaning he’ll probably be on a minutes restriction off the bench.
Williams, 20, was the fourth pick of the 2020 draft after one season at Florida State. He started all 71 of his games as rookie last season, putting up 9.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists on .483/.391/.728 shooting. A strong, versatile defender, Williams was limited to just five games this season before suffering torn ligaments in his left wrist, necessitating surgery.
- The Bulls have cleared Patrick Williams for full contact as he works to return from wrist surgery, per K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. Williams didn’t travel with the Bulls on their current three-game road trip, and he may practice or play for the team’s G League affiliate during that time. “A lot’s gonna now depend on how it goes once he does that (practices), and what does medical feel and he feel like (is) an ample amount of time for him to get comfortable actually going into a game,” coach Billy Donovan said.
Coach Billy Donovan remains confident that Patrick Williams will return sometime this month and he plans to slowly work the second-year forward back into the Bulls‘ rotation, writes Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago. Williams, who was cleared for “minimal” contact last week, is nearing the five-month anniversary of his wrist surgery, which is approximately when the medical staff projected his return.
“He can play an important role for our team,” Donovan said. “If we were whole (when Williams returns), I think the best thing to do with him would be to ease him in and bring him off the bench. That’s just my opinion right now. I don’t think it would be fair to him, just to throw him — with the number of games he’s missed and the amount of months he’s missed — to say, his first game back: ‘Hey, he’s starting.’”
Williams was an immediate starter as a rookie and was being counted on to provide a strong defensive presence in the front court this season. However, Javonte Green and Derrick Jones Jr. have been effective substitutes at power forward since Williams was injured, and he will likely only play in a handful of games before the regular season ends.
“I think adding Patrick helps our team. But for a guy that’s missed five months, and the first day he comes back, just to unload him into the starting lineup, I don’t know if that would be the best thing for our team and I don’t know if that would necessarily be fair to Patrick,” Donovan said. “I think he is gonna need some time to get his legs under him, to get his rhythm back, to find some kind of routine. And I think as a starter, coming back, to put him in that position, I think would be a big ask for him.”
There’s more from Chicago:
- Lonzo Ball is making progress after a surgical procedure in late January for a small meniscus tear in his left knee, but an MRI showed a bone bruise in the area that’s causing him pain, per K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. Donovan said Ball is doing some “lateral work,” but isn’t running yet at full speed.
- With Ball and Alex Caruso injured for much of the season, rookie guard Ayo Dosunmu has seized the opportunity to show he’s ready to contribute right away, writes Jamal Collier of ESPN. The Bulls didn’t expect Dosunmu to play a major role this season, but he’s been productive since moving into the starting lineup on January 15. “It’s been huge,” Caruso said. “You lose ‘Zo, you lose me, two guys that you think are going to be the main point guards, ball handlers on the team. And you throw him in, playing that position is probably the hardest position in the league to play. It’s just really impressive.”
- Dealing with some knee pain and returning from a one-game absence, Zach LaVine wasn’t pleased with how tentatively he played at the start of Monday’s game against Sacramento, as Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic details. “I’ve got to do a better job with just my mentality,” LaVine said. “I’m going out there and I’m playing through some pain in my knee injury, but I’ve got to have the right mindset. I can’t tiptoe into the game. It’s my first game back. I could put excuses out there, but I put that on myself. I made a mental decision in the second half to go out there and play like me. I’ve got to start off that way.”
- With Caruso back and LaVine playing on Monday night, Troy Brown was pulled from Donovan’s nine-man rotation, Schafer notes in an NBC Sports Chicago story.
- The Bulls were sparked by Alex Caruso‘s return from a fractured right wrist on Saturday, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times writes. Caruso finished with 11 points, four assists and four steals off the bench, helping his team defeat Cleveland 101-91 at home. “He had a major impact, just having another competitor out there,’’ teammate Ayo Dosunmu said of Caruso. “He makes [defense] easier for a lot of us. He’s a veteran; he’s won; he’s played in those high-level games. You have that, and it boosts the entire team morale.’’
The chemistry between Luke Kennard and Reggie Jackson formed long before they teamed up on the Clippers, writes Mirjam Swanson of The Orange County Register. They were teammates in Detroit for two and a half seasons after Kennard entered the league in 2017/18.
Their partnership ended briefly when the Pistons waived Jackson in February of 2020, but he signed with L.A. a few days later and Kennard was traded to the Clippers in the fall. They’ll make their only visit of the season to Detroit on Sunday afternoon.
“It’s been a lot of fun playing with him – I mean, I played with him in Detroit, so I know what Reggie is all about,” Kennard said. “He was my vet in Detroit, and we kind of built a connection right away. He helped me a lot throughout my first couple of years there. And just to be back with him now and to play even more of a role with him now than I did in Detroit, it’s fun.”
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Appearing as a guest on Serge Ibaka‘s “How Hungry Are You?” series on YouTube, DeMar DeRozan admits that he had some interest in joining the Clippers during free agency (hat tip to Adam Glanzman of All Clippers). On the show, which was taped during the offseason, DeRozan said he would have accepted a small pay cut if Kyle Lowry had also come to L.A., but after he met with the Bulls, he didn’t believe the Clippers could match their offer. “Nothing but respect to (president of basketball operations) Lawrence Frank and the whole Clippers organization,” DeRozan said. “Great people. It definitely was an opportunity that presented itself. I think for me, the Chicago thing just took off.”
- After Friday’s game, Lakers guard Talen Horton-Tucker revealed that he’s playing with a Grade 2 ankle sprain, according to Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. Horton-Tucker was listed as questionable for the game, but wound up playing 30 minutes and scoring 15 points. “I’m just trying to play through it,” he said. “It’s the end of the season so we got to get some wins. So, any way I can help I feel like I need to be out there. So, I’m trying to play through it. It still hurts, but I’m just trying to push.”
- Donte DiVincenzo brought a commitment to defense to the Kings when they acquired him in a four-team trade last month, per Alex Kramers of NBA.com. The fourth-year guard specializes in jumping into passing lanes and forcing turnovers. “At the end of the day, it is just locking up and locking in on the defensive end, [recognizing] how to disrupt [opponents] offensively and how to make a difference for a team,” DiVincenzo said.
Alex Caruso will be back on the court tonight, the Bulls announced (via Twitter), and his return should help solve the team’s defensive issues, writes Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago. Caruso has been sidelined for seven weeks with a fractured wrist, and he and Lonzo Ball have played a combined eight games since Christmas Day. Over that span, Chicago has dropped from ninth to 21st in team defense.
The difference is especially noticeable in regard to creating turnovers, as Caruso and Ball would both rank among the top 10 in the league in steals per game if they had played enough minutes. Schafer notes that the Bulls are last in the NBA in creating turnovers and 29th in steals in their 37 games since Christmas.
“There was certain things with those guys (Caruso and Ball) we did a little bit of, whether it be trapping pick-and-rolls, switching, or those guys’ ability to read something and fight through a screen or shoot the gap or anticipate something,” coach Billy Donovan said. “We gave those guys the freedom, I don’t want to say just to freelance, but like, be aggressive. Use your instincts. Get out in passing lanes. Use your activity.”
Caruso will be restricted to about 24-30 minutes per game, Schaefer tweets, but Donovan said that’s related more to his lengthy absence than concerns about the wrist.
There’s more from the Central Division:
- Zach LaVine is being held out of tonight’s game, even though the Bulls haven’t played since Wednesday, according to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link). The team has been taking precautions with LaVine’s sore left knee, but it’s unusual for him to be rested after a two-day break. “It’s not necessarily regressing,” Donovan said. “It’s just something he has to manage and deal with.”
- Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer offered encouraging news on Brook Lopez, who had back surgery and has played just one game this season, tweets Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Lopez feels good after a week of 5-on-5 practices and is expected to be ready soon. Teammate George Hill, who is suffering from neck soreness, is also making progress (Twitter link from Eric Nehm of The Athletic). “He’s close. He had a good day yesterday,” Budenholzer said. “I think he’s come through it well. So, I would say they’re both doing really well and they’re both close.”
- If the Pistons select a center in the draft, they may consider not bringing back rookie Luka Garza for another year, Rod Beard of The Detroit News states in a mailbag column. Detroit holds a team option on Garza for next season.