Ayo Dosunmu was sidelined the last week of the regular season with a bad quad, while Andre Drummond was dealing with a bum left ankle. Both were cleared to play against the Hawks on Wednesday.
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Full strength seemed more like a pipe dream than reality for the Bulls leading up to their play-in game Wednesday against the Hawks, but they got some good news in that department.
Guard Ayo Dosunmu (bruised right thigh) and big man Andre Drummond (sprained left ankle) were cleared to play against the Hawks, giving the Bulls some much-welcomed depth. And not just welcomed but needed, especially given how well Dosunmu and Drummond played against the Hawks during the regular season.
‘‘One of the things he does so well is he just attacks the rim,’’ Hawks coach Quin Snyder said of the improvement Dosunmu has made this season. ‘‘It’s hard for one player to stay in front of him in space, so that’s one thing [that’s improved].
‘‘The other is, he’s shot the ball great. They generate shots for him by driving the ball, spacing and then respacing, and he drives close-outs. Contest his shot and try and keep him in front of you, so that means closing out.
‘‘Equally, he’s impactful on defense, as well.’’
Drummond’s return was also key, especially because Bulls coach Billy Donovan admitted that replacing his nine rebounds in 17.1 minutes a game wouldn’t be an easy proposition.
Rookie Adama Sanogo is the only other real option behind starting center Nikola Vucevic.
‘‘He’s been really good on the glass for us, getting extra possessions,’’ Donovan said of Drummond. ‘‘It’s hard to make up the way he rebounds the ball because it’s just what he does at such an elite level. And then certainly his rolling, his presence rolling to the rim, has been really good. The rim-protection piece has been really good.
‘‘But I would just say that his presence around the basket is something that in those games you felt with him, the impact he made. It’s hard to sit there and say physically there’s anyone on the team that can generate that. We just don’t have that.’’
Gone camping
Forward DeMar DeRozan’s daughter, Diar, who became the talk of the play-in game last season in Toronto, wasn’t able to make the game against the Hawks.
‘‘She went to camp, so she just told me, ‘Make it to the playoffs,’ so she can get to a game,’’ DeRozan said.
In the play-in game last season, Diar messed with the minds of Raptors players at the free-throw line with a piercing scream that went viral. It was discussed by the announcers during the nationally televised game, too.
The Bulls won 109-105, and the Raptors shot 18-for-36 from the free-throw line in the game.
More on DeRozan
Before the game, DeRozan was recognized for his community work in mental health. He was awarded the NBA Cares Bob Lanier Community Assist Award for March.
Executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas presented DeRozan with the David Robinson Trophy, and the league will donate $10,000 to Coffee, Hip-Hop and Mental Health, a mental-health advocacy group in Chicago that DeRozan has partnered with.
DeRozan made national news in February when he released his video series ‘‘Dinners With DeMar.’’ He hosted former and current players at the dinner table, having in-depth discussions with them about mental health on and off the court.
‘‘Throughout the years, I’ve seen what can happen when people have honest conversations about mental health and understand that everyone faces challenges, including professional athletes,’’ DeRozan said of the honor. ‘‘I look forward to creating more forums for difficult but necessary conversations and providing more resources to support mental health for those who most need it.’’