Dunn's return from finger injury pushed back
Kris Dunn is still experiencing soreness in his dislocated left index finger. So he did not make his Chicago Bulls debut on Thursday against Atlanta and may not be ready for Saturday when Oklahoma City visits the United Center.
In the locker room before the game, Dunn had a large wrap on his left hand, with his finger engulfed in an ice pack. He was injured in the Oct. 6 preseason game and returned to practice on Monday.
Dunn was the No. 5 pick in last year's draft and one of the players obtained from Minnesota in the Jimmy Butler trade, so he's expected to be a key player in the Bulls' rebuild. Jerian Grant has started at point guard while Dunn has been sidelined.
The Bulls also played without forward Paul Zipser on Thursday. He suffered a knee contusion in the previous day's practice, so Denzel Valentine got the start at small forward.
Atlanta was missing point guard Dennis Schroder (sprained ankle) and forward Ersan Ilyasova (left knee strain).
Markkanen a unique rookie:
According to Elias Sports Bureau, Bulls forward Lauri Markkanen is the first rookie to make ten 3-pointers in the first three games of his NBA career. The 7-foot native of Finland was 10-for-22 from long range heading into Thursday's action.
According to Bulls radio stats guru Jeff Mangurten, the record for most rookie 3-pointers through four games was 11 by Dion Waiters, so Markkanen needed to hit just one to tie and two to set a record.
Through Wednesday's action, Markkanen was averaging 16.3 points and 9.3 rebounds, second among NBA rookies in both categories to Philadelphia's Ben Simmons.
Hawks coach carries on:
Most observers have placed Atlanta in the rebuilding category after losing Al Horford, Paul Millsap, Dwight Howard, Jeff Teague and Tim Hardaway Jr. in the past 16 months.
Not coach Mike Budenholzer. Asked if he considers the Hawks a rebuilding team, he answered, "No. I think we have the same expectations that we've had for the four years I've been here.
"I think organizationally, we're all in a good place. Certainly there's a change or a shift. We don't have as many veteran guys. I think our standards are still the same, the expectations are still the same."
Bulls horns:
According to New York Daily News columnist Frank Isola, Bulls rookie Lauri Markkanen asked Brian Scalabrine via text if it was OK to wear Scalabrine's old No. 24. Scalabrine met Markkanen a couple of times before the NBA Draft. … Thursday's game was the fifth of five road games to start the season for the Hawks. The team is waiting for phase one of a Philips Arena remodeling to be complete.