The Bulls lost to the Knicks on Tuesday in disappointing fashion, with a series of self-induced errors, including Torrey Craig attempting to throw an alley-oop to himself before getting knocked down by teammate Andre Drummond. The Athletic’s Darnell Mayberry sees that play as a microcosm of Chicago’s season: style over substance.
“To me, it was just really disappointing,” coach Billy Donovan said. “You’re down by (9). There were a lot of self-induced things that I thought we contributed to. Not only that play but other plays that weren’t as loud as that. But that play was disappointing to me.”
The Bulls are locked into the Play-In Tournament but clinched home-court advantage in the No. 9-No. 10 game against the Hawks by defeating the Pistons on Thursday.
We have more from the Bulls:
- Drummond left Tuesday’s game with a badly turned left ankle. According to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, Drummond had to be taken to the training room in a wheelchair and Donovan said his ankle was badly swollen. On Thursday, Donovan said Drummond is using a motorized scooter because of weight-bearing issues regarding the swelling in his ankle, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago tweets.
- Ayo Dosunmu missed Tuesday’s game with an injured quad, Cowley adds in the same piece. “I don’t know how long it will or will not be because I think he felt OK after the game [Sunday] in Orlando,” Donovan said. “I think after he felt a little better, it just hasn’t progressed.” According to Johnson, Dosunmu’s deep thigh contusion is giving him issues with being able to contract his quad muscle.
- In case you missed it, Kentucky is finalizing a deal to hire Mark Pope of BYU as their next head coach. But if there were any doubts, Donovan previously re-affirmed his commitment to the Bulls on Tuesday and shot down any rumors of him potentially leaving for the college ranks, ESPN’s Jamal Collier writes.
- With the Bulls headed for the play-in and potentially out of the playoffs in the coming weeks, Cowley opines general manager Arturas Karnisovas and the Bulls should change their philosophy when it comes to this roster. Cowley believes this build has reached its peak and the team should consider trading some of its star players and enter a rebuild.