The Bulls played their second preseason game last night against the Houston Rockets. They came out on top with a 104-91 victory and bounced back very well from their game one loss. The Bulls look to continue that momentum into the rest of the preseason and regular season. However, the Bulls have already been hit with something we will most likely see a lot of this NBA Season, COVID.
Yahoo Sources: Chicago Bulls forward Noah Vonleh has tested positive for COVID-19 and begins mandatory 10-day quarantine. He will be waived. I’m told he is feeling good overall.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) December 14, 2020
It was confirmed today that Bulls forward Noah Vonleh did in fact test positive for COVID-19. There was quite a bit of speculation last night during the Bulls preseason game as to whether someone on the team was out due to COVID. The Bulls had 5 players who weren’t with the team last night.
Add Luke Kornet as well as Tomas Satoransky to the "excused absence'' list. Why does it feel like this season will be "paused" by early January?
— Joe Cowley (@JCowleyHoops) December 14, 2020
Nothing had really been discussed ahead of the game and the assumption was that it must be COVID related. Unfortunately, that was the case with Vonleh testing positive.
Vonleh’s future with the Bulls
Unfortunately for Vonleh, this is going to be the end of the road for him with the Chicago Bulls. He came in as a training camp guy and I honestly thought he may have had a shot of taking someone’s spot. His positive test requires 10-day isolation which would lead us into the regular season. Since he only logged 11 minutes with the team he won’t have any more time to show what he can do. Vonleh was appreciative of his short second stint with the team.
"Thank you to the organization for everything. Though it was a short time, I appreciate the opportunity. I am thankfully feeling good, and I look forward to working my way to another NBA opportunity once I'm cleared to play again!"
-Noah Vonleh pic.twitter.com/y3is0dwnhE
— Bulls Nation (@BullsNationCP) December 14, 2020
Although it was a short stint with the Bulls we wish Vonleh luck wherever he lands next.
How will COVID-19 affect the NBA?
The main thing here is going to be tracing. So if a player tests positive the next step is to see who they had close contact with. Basketball teams are small so if that number is big then you are going to lose a good portion of your team. This might be a defining piece of this season. We’ve seen how COVID has hurt the NFL and those teams are significantly larger than NBA teams. This means that teams are going to need to do a good job of following NBA protocols. The Bulls are seeing a small taste of that right now. This is now the second Bulls player to test positive. Thankfully the first wasn’t around the team before finding out.
Bulls Nation, let’s all wish Garrett Temple a speedy and safe recovery 🙏 pic.twitter.com/gzyfg6tI5S
— Bulls Nation (@BullsNationCP) December 6, 2020
Eight days ago new Bulls player Garrett Temple had tested positive. He has been self-isolating since his positive diagnosis and should join the team ahead of the regular season. This season could be like any other depending on how COVID hits the league.
Preseason Road Blocks
This certainly is a speed bump in the Bull’s preseason plans. Last night the team was without Center Luke Kornet, Forward Noah Vonleh, Guard Tomas Satoransky, Guard Devon Dotson, and Guard Adam Mokoka. None of them were with the team. Not everyone was confirmed to be tied to the trace but one can believe that’s why. If this were the regular season that would have put the Bulls down a third of the team. If there were any other injuries on top of that the Bulls would have struggled to field a team. Hopefully, this is the last time we see the Bulls and COVID in the same story. I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one. We wish everyone who has tested positive a safe and speedy recovery as they get back to basketball.
