As Ball returns to town, Bulls already have rotation overload
On a day Coby White returned to practice and Lonzo Ball was back at the Advocate Center, it was timely to think about the rotation challenges facing Bulls coach Billy Donovan.
He used 10 players in the first quarter of the preseason opener, with as second unit of White, Goran Dragic, Alex Caruso, Javonte Green and Andre Drummond. Will the Bulls use 10 players in the regular rotation? If not, who sits out? And what happens when Ball comes back or rookie Dalen Terry earns playing time?
"You're dealing with that every year," Donovan said after Thursday's practice. "There's somebody that clearly could be in the rotation that's not. Or somebody who's not playing as much. There could be an opportunity to play 10, it could be nine."
Usually, problems like this take care of themselves, because injuries are inevitable. Players can go from barely playing to heavy minutes in an instant.
"I think it's important guys stay engaged because it's a long season," Donovan said. "I don't read too much into the first five, seven, 10 games - 'Oh, here's the rotation for the next eighth months.' It just never happens like that. So you've got to keep everyone engaged."
Ball had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on Sept. 28. He's expected to be out for a couple of months, but the plan was for him to be around the team while going through rehab.
White returns:
Coby White left Tuesday's preseason game after just three minutes due to a left knee contusion. He had an MRI the next day but was a full participant in Thursday's practice.
"Jaxson Hayes was coming down, I tried to cut him off and his knee hit the top of my knee," White said. "So it was a little knee contusion or bone bruise. It was just hurting during the game.
"Yesterday it was pretty sore. Today I practiced the whole practice so it was fun. I know it's going to hurt, but it's just a bone bruise. It doesn't hurt bad enough for me not to play."
White said he expects to play when the Bulls host Denver on Friday for the second of four preseason games. According to The Denver Post, two-time MVP Nikola Jokic is unlikely to play due to a wrist injury.
Donovan takes blame:
Andre Drummond was ejected from Tuesday's preseason game. One rule emphasis this year is for bench players not to step onto the court to celebrate a play. Drummond did that late in the game and already had a technical for arguing a call, so he was done. But coach Billy Donovan took the blame.
"I'm going to take full responsibility for the Drummond thing," Donovan said after the game. "He was on the court, yes. But what happened was today we went over some different rule changes on take fouls and one thing I did not go over was if there is celebration on the court, that's a technical foul. I did not talk about that with them. So I'm going to say that's on me."
Twitter: @McGrawDHSports