Bulls settle down, beat Rockets in second preseason test
The Bulls not only got their act together in the second preseason game Sunday, they also might have gotten a taste of what's in store during an unpredictable pandemic season.
The Bulls beat Houston 104-91 at the United Center, while four players - Tomas Satoransky, Luke Kornet, Devan Dotson and Noah Vonleh - were late scratches and officially listed as "not with team."
The Bulls gave no the details except the absences were excused, but this is a time when players ae being regularly tested for COVID-19.
"It's really, really hard for me to go into anything regarding that," Bulls coach Billy Donovan said after the game. "That's going to happen sometimes, just in the environment we're in. I think you have to be prepared for anything. We would have liked to play maybe a few more players tonight."
Donovan said he learned of the player absences while he was already at the arena preparing for the game.
"Before the game we talked about we're not going to pay attention to that and not worry about who's missing," Lauri Markkanen said. "We can't control that."
The Bulls were trounced in the preseason opener Friday against this same Houston team. They seemed to settle down in their second chance to get back on the floor after a nine-month layoff.
The biggest difference was that the starting backcourt of Zach LaVine and Coby White seemed much more comfortable together. LaVine scored 20 of his 23 points in the first half, while White finished with 20 points and both players had 5 assists.
Rookie forward Patrick Williams continued to show confidence, producing 13 points and 3 steals. Otto Porter contributed 12 points and 7 rebounds.
The Bulls had some shaky moments in the first half, but won by dominating the fourth quarter 31-12, after the Rockets sat most of their starters. John Wall led Houston with 21 points.
The bad news led with Markkanen hitting just 1 of 10 shots for 3 points. He left the game with 2:45 left in the third quarter after a collision with former Bulls forward David Nwaba, who appeared to strike Markkanen's left knee. After the game, Markkanen said it was no big deal and he's fine.
"It's a process and we're still in the beginning and just getting better every day," Markkanen said. "I can only speak for myself. I was nervous (Friday), like it was my rookie year going into my first game after nine months. Coming into this game I was a lot more comfortable and I would assume my teammates were too. We had a good session of practice yesterday and we talked about stuff and I think we came out and competed hard today."
When it comes to losing players shortly before game time, it might be something that happens with regularity all and the league until the coronavirus is under control.
"We've got to stay flexible," Donovan said. "We've got to be able to absorb and handle anything that gets thrown at us, because there's going to be disruption. When there's disruption, what you have to have I think are guys that are engaged.
"This is going to be a crazy time and a crazy season that we're all dealing with. From game to game, day to day, your team is going to change. Guys could be in different roles, guys may have to learn a different position. It's going to be hard. There may not be a whole lot of continuity, but you've just got to try to do the best you can."
Twitter: @McGrawDHBulls