The NBA is starting to see a flurry of postponed games as COVID-19 is spreading throughout the league. The Bulls have already had one game postponed this season and now they will be looking at another postponement. Their game on Wednesday looks to be off due to issues in Memphis.
Grizzlies-Bulls has been postponed, the NBA says, marking the fourth straight game Memphis has had taken off the board due to the league's health and safety protocols. The Wizards are playing tonight for the first time in two weeks after having six games postponed.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) January 25, 2021
The Grizzlies have seen four straight games postponed as COVID has been spreading through their locker room. This will create another break in the schedule for the Bulls that they will absolutely need. Let’s look at how this will impact their schedule.
The Bulls schedule
The Bulls will meet the Boston Celtics tonight for the first time this season. The Bull’s previous meeting with the Celtics was postponed due to health and safety protocols. Two days later the Bulls were supposed to meet the Grizzlies. With that game now postponed the Bulls will have four days between games. They will meet the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday the 30th. This postponement will absolutely help the Bulls as they have had a few players out due to lingering injuries or soreness.
The injuries this season
The Bulls were hit early on with a COVID-related player loss. They had four players out for 10+ days due to health and safety protocols. During that time you also saw forward Otto Porter Jr. miss time with an injury. Since getting everyone back we’ve seen Porter Jr. miss time again. On top of that, we saw starting center Wendell Carter Jr. miss time with a thigh injury. He is listed as doubtful for the Bulls game tonight so these extra four days will be huge for getting him back healthy.
The Chicago Bulls list Wendell Carter Jr (right quad) as doubtful for tomorrow night's game.
Otto Porter Jr is expected to play tomorrow after not playing against the Lakers due to rest.
— Daniel Greenberg (@ChiSportUpdates) January 25, 2021
These four days are especially important for the Bulls veteran players. With the condensed season, it’s been harder to get the veteran guys out on the floor night after night. Porter Jr. has been the most common player out for rest. Using these four days to let guys get healthy will be big for this team as they don’t want to lose ground in the eastern conference. This time will also be important for head coach Billy Donovan.
Coach finally gets some practice days
With the condensed season, there have been a lot fewer practice days for the team. They have played multiple back to back games this season and most games have one day in between which involves travel if not at home. The practice sessions just aren’t as in-depth as in seasons past. These four days will allow Donovan to break down the film and review it with this young team. He can take this time to implement new game plans and work with each player individually. The players enjoy playing for him so these four days can be huge for their future success.
"He keeps it real. The other day he called me out during film. He's going to keep it honest with you and everyone on the team respects that. He wants us to be winners. He's a straight-up dude and I got a lot of respect for him."
– Coby White on Billy Donovan(Via Bulls FB Live)
— Daniel Greenberg (@ChiSportUpdates) January 23, 2021
This time will be oh so valuable for this young squad. While all of us want to see more Bulls basketball this is a good break for a team that needs to continue being coached. Under Donovan, this team has transformed the offense which is the main reason why they sit at 7-9 currently. The defense needs to be improved and you can believe that Donovan will use this time to touch on that. The Bulls still have one game left before they get this four day “break”. They need to be ready tonight as they face off with the Boston Celtics at home. With the Bulls knowing there will be no game on Wednesday expect them to come out firing. This team needs to give it their all tonight and go into the four day stretch ready to learn and get better.
