Injury updates about Bulls guard Lonzo Ball usually end with a sigh and a thud.
That’s why Saturday was a little bit surprising.
Coach Billy Donovan not only said that Ball, who has been out with an injury to his right wrist, had his best rehab session earlier in the day but that he might start going through contact in the coming week.
‘‘[Saturday] was probably the best day he had in terms of shooting the basketball,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘Whatever it was, a week or 10 days ago, he was having some discomfort shooting. And [Saturday] he actually felt pretty good doing that, so there’s been significant progress over the last 10 days. But until he can get into some contact, using his hands, passing, catching, those kinds of things, we can at least keep moving forward.’’
Ball, who missed 2œ seasons after having three surgeries on his left knee, began this season coming off the bench and on a strict minutes limit. He fell on the wrist in his third game, however, and has been out since.
If Ball can start going through contact drills in the next week, he might be looking at a return in early December.
Either way, Donovan said he has been impressed by Ball’s attitude. He not only is trying to show the Bulls — and the entire NBA, really — that he can be a key rotation piece moving forward, but he’s doing so on an expiring contract.
Rather than feeling anxious or concerned about his situation, Ball has remained realistic about things.
‘‘The thing with him is, he handles everything in stride,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘Even the constant setbacks with his knee, it’s like he never changed. It was like, ‘OK, it is what it is, I can’t change it, this is how I have to attack this going forward.’
‘‘I think he took the same approach with his wrist. He’s not ever come across to me as stressed out or, ‘I’ve got to get back, I’ve got to show [this or that].’ I give him a lot of credit for even wrapping his head around that.’’
Donovan said, however, that Ball will start from scratch on his minutes restriction when he returns. That means he’ll be back to 15 or 16 minutes per game.
Playing in back-to-back games will remain out of the question, but the Bulls hope to get Ball up to 22 to 24 minutes at some point.
Dunk that!
Rookie forward Matas Buzelis continues to get extended playing time with Patrick Williams sidelined with an injury to his left foot and continues to show his aggressiveness in wanting to attack the rim.
The next step, however, is for him to learn that not everything has to be a highlight dunk. Buzelis reached back for a one-handed slam in the third quarter Friday against the Hawks, but the ball was deflected out of his hand.
‘‘I think, as he gets a little older, he’s going to realize, ‘Three points is better than two or possibly one,’ ’’ Donovan said, referring to the idea that Buzelis could have made the basket and drawn a foul if he would have kept two hands on the ball. ‘‘Those are learning points for him.’’
Buzelis is learning, but he said it’s in his nature to attack the rim.
‘‘I’m 6-10 [and] athletic, so I’m going to use that to my advantage,’’ he said. ‘‘I’m always thinking, ‘Attack the rim with aggression.’ ’’
Bugging out
Forward Julian Phillips missed the game against the Grizzlies with a bug that has been going around the team for the last few weeks.