Markkanen ready for no-limits Chicago Bulls practice
It all sounds good. Lauri Markkanen will participate in full-contact practice Tuesday with no limitations.
But when Markkanen will play in a game for the first time this season, that's still unclear. Possibly soon, though.
"He's passed every hurdle he's had as far as getting medically cleared and then going out and doing the individual workouts," Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said before Monday's game. "And then coming in and having a full-court, two-on-two with some of our players (Sunday). He felt good this morning.
"It's going to be a day-by-day situation. If he has soreness we'll obviously scale back, but if he keeps making progress we can keep getting him out on the floor."
One thing working in favor of a swift return is Markkanen has been able to work on his conditioning, since he's recovering from a sprained right elbow. Hoiberg said as of now Markkanen will travel with the Bulls on the road this week, rather than stay behind and practice with Windy City.
In other injury news, Denzel Valentine is scheduled to have his ankle surgery Tuesday in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Hoiberg said Kris Dunn and Bobby Portis, both out with knee sprains, are planning to do the noncontact portions of Tuesday's practice.
Pop hates threes:
San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich issued an entertaining rant before the game about the preponderance of 3-point shooting in today's NBA.
"There's such an emphasis on the 3, because it's proven to be analytically correct," he said. "Now you look at a stat sheet after a game and the first thing you look at is the 3s. If you made 3s and the other team didn't, you win. You don't even look at the rebounds or the turnovers or how much transition D was involved. You don't even care.
"That's how much an impact the 3-point shot has, and it's evidenced by how everybody plays. I hate it, but I always have. I've hated the 3 for 20 years. That's why I make a joke all the time, well if we're going to make it a different game, make it a joke, let's have a 4-point play.
"Because if everybody likes the 3, they'll really like the 4. People will jump out of their seats if you have a 5-point play. It will be great."
Old Spurs won't leave:
Gregg Popovich confirmed that a couple of retired Spurs legends, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginóbili, still make their presence felt.
"(Duncan) smells up our locker room with his clothes," Popovich said. "All his gear, it piles up. It's a mess. He's got a locker on one side of me and Manu's on the other side. Timmy works out there, with the guys or by himself probably three days a week. Manu's always hanging around.
"It's great to see them. It's great for the young kids, if you have Manu or Timmy put an arm around you and talk to you about what's going on, that's pretty neat."
Bull horns:
Rookie Chandler Hutchison returned Monday after missing three games with back spasms. … By going 4-for-6 from 3-point range in the first half, Justin Holiday tied a Bulls franchise record by hitting at least 3 baskets from 3-point range in six straight games, matching marks set by Craig Hodges and Lauri Markkanen.