The preseason numbers were ugly on the defensive end for the Bulls. The news on Saturday was worse.
Already struggling to find consistent physical defenders, the Bulls announced that back-up center Zach Collins – one of the few bigs on the roster that welcomes body-on-body crime each game – underwent a Friday surgery to repair a non-displaced fracture in his left wrist.
He will be re-evaluated in a month, but as far as an exact timetable for a Collins return it remains to be seen.
So what does coach Billy Donovan do now? Jalen Smith backing up Nikola Vucevic, and then a whole lot of hope.
The focus entering preseason play was to be a more physical team and one that thrives off turning the opposition over. The Bulls didn’t really accomplish either.
According to Elias, while they wrapped up the preseason 3-2 in the standings, they finished the five games 25th in the league in defensive rating, 24th in steals, and had the second fewest forced turnovers.
The addition of Isaac Okoro was expected to change that, and it still could when the games actually count, but Collins was also being counted on as a key reserve to help in that department.
Help that might not be available until late November.
Not the only ugly on the medical front, as the Bulls were also still dealing with the news that they had to waive locker room-favorite Yuki Kawamura because of a medical condition. Kawamura wasn’t expected to be a rotation player, but he did feed into the chemistry aspect of the team.
With two more practices scheduled before the regular season tips off for the Bulls on Wednesday, still a lot to sort out and little time to do so:
What is the status of injured guard Coby White and his strained calf?
White did go through a controlled scrimmage on Saturday, which was huge as far as him finally seeing some contact since he first injured the calf back in August.
“I think he’s in a really good place,” coach Billy Donovan said of White’s day. “He went through most of the contact. He looked good physically. We worked on a lot of situational stuff five-on-five, but we did go up and down for a couple minutes. As of right now, I think it’s trending towards him playing (against the Pistons).”
Expect White to be on a minutes restriction, which could mean he could come off the bench initially to manage his minutes.
Who are the starters?
With a completely healthy squad, expect it to be the obvious. That means White, Josh Giddey, Isaac Okoro, Matas Buzelis and Nikola Vucevic. That doesn’t mean it will stay that way, however.
Donovan said he will change starting looks for matchup purposes, so he could use Ayo Dosunmu over Okoro if he wants a three-guard look or experiment with a big package against certain teams.
Which players are on the outside looking in?
Rookie Noa Essengue could find minutes hard to come by, especially with a bench that will see Tre Jones, Kevin Huerter, Dosunmu, Patrick Williams, Smith, Dalen Terry and Julian Phillips. Donovan welcomes a 10-man rotation, even 11, but to stretch it out to 12 isn’t very realistic.
What’s to be excited about?
There was a lot of hype building around Buzelis over the summer, and it’s safe to say go ahead and embrace that hype.
It was only preseason games but not only did Buzelis look like the best player on the Bulls most nights, but the best player on the court. He added some muscle to his 21-year-old frame and played like it. With Buzelis’ athleticism, swagger and want-to, the sky’s the limit for the forward.