Laettner play still affects Donovan's coaching decisions
Bulls coach Billy Donovan added some insight to the defensive plan on Atlanta's game-winning basket Sunday.
The decision to have center Nikola Vucevic guard the inbound passer is related to Donovan's bad memories of maybe the most famous shot in college basketball history.
"I was on the bench in Kentucky when (Duke's) Christian Laettner made that shot (in the 1992 NCAA Tournament)," Donovan said Tuesday at the Advocate Center. "We had no man on the ball. Put two guys back and tried to double team him. It gave Grant Hill a clear sight for a pass."
To be clear, Donovan was careful not to throw his boss at the time, Rick Pitino, under the bus. He said it was the right call, since Kentucky didn't have any players on the floor with the size to match up with the 6-11 Laettner.
But in a situation like the Bulls saw Sunday, trying to protect a 1-point lead with 0.5 seconds on the clock, Donovan thought about the Laettner play.
"Going through it, I like the fact that we had Vuc on the ball at the end of the game," Donovan said. "They took (center Clint) Capela off the floor so they were relatively small."
Unfortunately for the Bulls, Atlanta's Jalen Johnson was able to lob a pass to rookie A.J. Griffin in the lane. He caught the ball and flipped in a shot at the buzzer to hand the Bulls a disheartening 123-122 loss.
Derrick Jones Jr. was originally on Trae Young, but switched when Griffin set a screen. Jones probably played Griffin a little too tight, though. He took a bump, then Griffin spun to the basket and Jones lost sight of the pass as it was headed his way.
"It was just a situation where we've got to stay in between the man and the basket there," Donovan said. "But I think we guarded it correctly. The inbounder made a really good pass over Vuc. Griffin made a great play."
Injury update:
Alex Caruso practiced Tuesday and said he's hoping to be able to play Wednesday against New York at the United Center. He missed the Atlanta game after suffering a low-back contusion in the first quarter against Dallas last Saturday.
"Feeling better," Caruso said Tuesday. "Not sore, no pain, moving around, so that's a positive."
Ayo Dosunmu did not practice Tuesday and is listed as questionable with a pelvic contusion. He was injured in a collision with Trae Young in the Atlanta game.
Brunson questionable:
Former Stevenson High School star Jalen Brunson is listed as questionable for Wednesday's game against the Bulls with a right foot contusion. After jumping from Dallas to the Knicks as a free agent, Brunson is averaging a career-high 20.1 points and 6.3 assists this season.
Billy Donovan coached Brunson in 2014 with the U18 national team at the FIBA Americas championship held in Colorado Springs.
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