The Bulls’ starting center for the last two games, Derrick Jones Jr., entered the league’s health and safety protocols on Thursday, first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski.
Jones became the fifth Bulls’ player to enter Covid-19 protocols joining Coby White, Javonte Green, DeMar DeRozan and Matt Thomas.
The Bulls are also waiting for reevaluation on Alex Caruso for his recent hamstring injury, and are left without Patrick Williams due to a wrist injury.
Jones stepped up in place of DeRozan in the starting lineup in the past two games.
Jones played extremely well versus the Denver Nuggets. Not only putting up an efficient line of 12 points, nine rebounds and one assist but helped plenty on interior defense and made tough shots from distance and momentum-changing dunks too.
Similarly, Jones gave a strong effort in the Bulls’ loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night. He recorded 11 points and two rebounds on 4-of-7 shooting.
Filling in for Jones
The Bulls are without plenty of full-court players, especially on defense if you count Caruso. Jones, Green and Caruso make up a bulk of the team’s hustle and grit on both sides of the floor.
The starters will most likely be Ball-LaVine-Dosunmu-Vuecevic and possibly Troy Brown Jr. or Tony Bradley entering with the starters.
The bench is left to Alize Johnson, Devon Dotson, Tyler Cook, Marko Simonovic and recently signed Stanley Johnson. Johnson will join the team against the Heat on Friday.
Without the length and athleticism that Jones provides, the front-court is left a bit diminished, especially on the defensive side.
Giving more playing time to Tony Bradley Jr. makes more sense off the bench, considering Jones’s absence and Vucevic’s recent shooting struggles (16-of-47 from the field in the last two games, or 34 percent.)
It’s possible Bulls fans could see the Bulls’ 2020 second-round draft pick, Simonovic, as the perfect opportunity to give him some true professional experience. He has played just over seven minutes this season in two games, scoring one total point.
The Bulls saw plenty of atypical minutes from Devon Dotson, who played 19 minutes in place of Dosunmu, shooting 2-of-6 from the field for six points and one rebound.
The short-term future
According to the Athletic’s Darnell Mayberry, Billy Donovan stated he “has not heard anything along those lines,” in terms of postponing games.
Last season, the NBA postponed 31 total games due to Covid-19 breakouts. There have not been any postponements this season.
I asked Bulls coach Billy Donovan three days ago whether there has been any internal discussion of postponing games. Short answer then was no. But here is his full answer: pic.twitter.com/pzgJJLRkk2
— Darnell Mayberry (@DarnellMayberry) December 9, 2021
Multiple reports stated that players could get out of protocols by testing negative twice in the proceeding 24 hours. But, it seems like none of the Bulls’ players have been able to achieve that.
The team will have to fair without multiple key players for the time being. White should return sooner than later since he was the first to enter the protocols.
The next proceeding games will be a challenge for the Bulls. Luckily, Billy Donovan has showcased his trust in the team by not neglecting his bench to play the starters for the majority of the game.
Only now, with the bench limited to a handful of players, keeping the starters off the floor might be easier said than done.
The first test of the short-handed Bulls will be against the Heat on Friday.
Their last game against the Cavaliers felt like a flashback to last season, with the Bulls down by as much as 20 points in the fourth quarter, to their former starting forward, Lauri Markkanen.
Lock in Bulls fans, this stretch will be a gritty one.
