There was a lot of talk coming from the Bulls‘ locker room in the last 24 hours about that “next-man-up mentality,” and on Wednesday, coach Billy Donovan showed who those next men up would be and what they could do.
With Coby White (right calf), Josh Giddey (left hamstring) and Zach Collins (right toe) each sidelined for at least a week — and in Giddey’s case, two weeks — Donovan unveiled his new-look rotation in the Bulls’ 134-118 victory over the Pelicans.
Donovan tried to match a physical Pelicans lineup with size, starting Isaac Okoro, Nikola Vucevic, Matas Buzelis and Jalen Smith, while going with only one guard, Tre Jones. One was all he needed; Jones responded with 20 points and 12 assists.
Donovan’s first five off the bench were Patrick Williams, Dalen Terry, Jevon Carter, Kevin Huerter and Ayo Dosunmu.
It’ll be a work in progress and one that could change from game to game based on the matchup and who’s playing well. But so far, so good for the 16-17 Bulls.
“Everyone knows their role on this team,” Okoro, who finished with a season-high 24 points, said of the undermanned roster. “No one is too big-headed or out there trying to be a superstar on this team. Everyone knows their roles, knows what they need to do to impact winning. So as long as guys know that, I think we’ll be in a good place. We have enough here.
“Just play with energy, play with a high spirit, do the things we can control. Of course, not having bodies out there is bad, but we have enough. Control what we can control.”
That’s the same message Donovan has been preaching since they learned Monday they would be without Collins, then lost White and Giddey in a blowout loss to the Timberwolves later that night.
“It’s a results-oriented business, but I look at it as a 48-minute game,” Donovan said. “Can we play to an identity covering for each other on defense, helping each other on offense, moving the basketball, playing the right way, not turning it over? To me, there are certain things we can do as a basketball team. Are we good enough to actually overcome and go win games? It remains to be seen, but I know if we don’t do those things, we have no chance.”
Back-to-back talk
The games against the 76ers and Bucks on Friday and Saturday represented the first back-to-back White had played in this season.
White had suffered a strained right calf in August and missed months because of it, so the Bulls had stayed away from giving him that kind of workload. He came out of the back-to-back feeling fine but then felt tightness in the next game.
That’s why Donovan and the Bulls’ medical staff might shut him down from back-to-backs for the rest of the season when he is healthy again.
‘‘That’s been a topic of conversation,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘That was the first back-to-back he played. He came out of it fine, but they are trying to go through every minute detail that he does every single day.’’
Just whispers
The Sun-Times and other media outlets have reported the Bulls are keeping an eye on the situation with Zion Williamson, the No. 1 overall pick in 2019, and his future with the Pelicans. They can look away for the time being, however, because he seems to be in a good place with his team.
Not only is the injury-prone Williamson coming off a December in which his availability was solid — he played in nine games since Dec. 14 — but so were his numbers. He averaged 22.5 points on 60.2% shooting from the field.