Bulls’ Billy Donovan Gives Encouraging Update on Team’s Long-Term Injuries

Andy Lyons/Getty Images Billy Donovan

The All-Star break has come and gone, now the Chicago Bulls are ramping up for the stretch of the NBA regular season. A huge story through the team’s first 59 games has been the number of injuries they’ve sustained.

Second-year forward Patrick Williams has missed 54 games this season, which has left the Bulls shorthanded in the frontcourt. Also, the team has been without Lonzo Ball since January 15 and Alex Caruso since January 21.

Latest Injury Update

On Wednesday Bulls head coach Billy Donovan addressed the media and gave an update on all three injured players.

“Lonzo has been doing some running,” said Donovan, “Patrick is still able to do stuff with the basketball, but no contact right now. There will be a period of time where he’ll be able to do it. I think I mentioned maybe around the Sacramento game that Alex was maybe a week or ten days away. So I think we’re hoping by the end of this week, certainly early next week that he’ll have a ball in his hands and be able to do things.”

“Those guys are all progressing and recovery is going well. It’s a good thing that they’ve been able to do some things in terms of their conditioning, so it’s not like they’re coming in and trying to get themselves back in shape. They should be able to get themselves in as good of shape as you can get yourself in without playing when they are cleared to play.”

It’s an encouraging update that all three have returned to some form of activity. Donovan didn’t give a specific time frame for when Ball or Williams will return. He did touch on what might be the biggest for Williams’s return:

“The challenge is…it’s the same thing with Coby when you have an injury like Coby did with his shoulder it takes some time to get back to your timing and rhythm. I mean he hasn’t done anything really at all five on five, Coby had a very small window to play five on five before we put him back in there once he was cleared to play. You just got to anticipate that those things take a little bit of time, but I do think there will be a ramp-up for him physically that he (Williams) can get himself in pretty good shape.”

Donovan also said he still thinks Williams will be back before the end of the season. The Bulls will certainly need all three players with what they have in front of them the rest of the season

Home Stretch

As the Bulls head into the second half of the season, the team is currently tied for first place in the Eastern Conference at 38-21. The Bulls have still played well despite all of the injuries, thanks to DeMar DeRozan having an MVP caliber season so far and young guards Ayo Dosunmu and Coby White stepping up.

While the Bulls have certainly had a successful season so far, their remaining schedule is daunting. According to Tankathon.com, the Bulls have the second toughest remaining schedule in the NBA.

In the Bulls last 23 games the team will play 18 games against teams that are currently in the playoff field. The remaining schedule features three games with the Milwaukee Bucks, two with the Miami Heat, and two against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Bulls will also play the Phoenix Suns, Memphis Grizzlies, and Philadelphia 76ers.

That remaining schedule would be tough for any team, especially a Bulls team that has been shorthanded. While we don’t know when the Bulls will be fully healthy, looking at that remaining schedule, the sooner the better.