NEWSLETTER
The Chicago Bulls may need to wait until after the All-Star break to snap their latest losing streak.
According to the NBA’s official injury report, the Bulls will walk into tonight’s matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks severely undermanned. DeMar DeRozan will miss his second-straight game with a hip injury, while Alex Caruso will return to the bench with foot soreness. This is the same issue that forced Caruso to sit out the Bulls’ loss to Orlando earlier this week.
Goran Dragic and Derrick Jones Jr. will also miss their second-straight games as they deal with knee and groin injuries, respectively.
With those four players joining Lonzo Ball and Javonte Green in street clothes, it will only ensure that rookie Dalen Terry continues to receive playing time. The youngster clocked a career-high 15 minutes last night in Indiana in what was his second-straight appearance. I’d also keep an eye on someone like Carlik Jones, who head coach Billy Donovan did say was available ahead of last night’s game but failed to crack the rotation.
Jones, who is on a two-way contract, has put together quite an impressive G-League stint this season. He’s averaged 26.7 points with 7.3 assists over his 13 games played, shooting 52.3 percent from the field and 39.2 percent from downtown. With the Bulls down so many players tonight, this could be the perfect opportunity to get a better look at what he can do at the NBA level.
As for who will enter the starting lineup for Caruso (who was in for DeRozan), my guess would be Coby White. Not only is he basically the only experienced guard healthy, but he just dropped a season-high 25 points in a very solid individual effort against the Pacers. Might as well see if he can repeat against the East’s second-best team.
Speaking of which, the only good news for the Bulls is that Milwaukee is also struggling with some injury trouble. While they will still enter the night as heavy favorites, they will be without Khris Middleton, Pat Connaughton, Bobby Portis, and new addition Jae Crowder.
Still, the Bucks are coming into this one as winners of 11-straight. The uphill battle might be too steep to climb for Chicago.
