NEW YORK – It’s never a good thing when setbacks have become a regular part of a player’s development.
Then again, very little has seemingly gone right when it comes to Bulls forward Patrick Williams.
Prior to the game with the Knicks on Thursday, the organization announced that Williams would be shut down for at least two weeks, receiving a platelet rich plasma (PRP) injection in his right knee to help treat tendinosis.
Considering Williams had already lost his starting job to rookie Matas Buzelis and again was passive on far too many nights, spending more time in street clothes was not exactly going to help turn around his 2024-25 campaign, especially after the Bulls extended him for five years, $90 million last offseason.
“I think it was in the Detroit game, he was kind of complaining about it after,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said of when the injury occurred. “Quite honestly he felt much better with the time off. Came back (from the All-Star Weekend) feeling pretty good. He went through practice and started complaining about it, so they wanted to get it checked out. That’s ultimately what they found.”
Now it will be a waiting game.
The two-week mark is only for an update on where he is in the healing process. That doesn’t mean he will return then. Also in play is Williams will likely see his conditioning suffer since he can’t run or cut on the knee.
Donovan pointed that out, and was also asked what Williams needs to do, not only the rest of this season but in the offseason, to try and finally take that next step of consistency.
It was not a quick answer, which said a lot.
“I do think that he’s got to work very hard this summer on the finishing part,” Donovan said. “If you looked at his finishing numbers at the basket, I think he would even agree.
“The other part is him really being able to understand the way the game is being played in terms of the metrics, like he’s got a great skill in that you can put the ball in his hands and he can go get off a shot, but I think there’s times where he relies too much on non-paint twos where he can try and get to the rim a little bit more. Those would be areas that stick out to me on what he’s got to work on in the summer.”
Donovan has been in Williams’ ear – and really the ears of all the young players – on making sure they work on the right things this upcoming summer.
“My thing is how are you going to handle adversity?” Donovan said. “Like what are you doing right now where things mentally over 82 games are not going well? How are you going to get yourself out of that?”
Return of the Mac
There was a lot that impressed Buzelis with his All-Star Weekend experience. Put losing to three-time dunk champion Mac McClung atop that list.
“He’s like 6-1, maybe 6-feet actually, maybe 5-11, I’m not going to lie,” Buzelis said of McClung. “He’s like a pro dunker out there honestly. Everything he does is amazing. He jumps over people, jumps over cars, so it was very impressive to watch that.”
Buzelis did say he would do the dunk contest again if asked.
Friar tuck
Donovan had his jersey retired by Providence over the break and called the entire weekend experience “humbling.”
“Most of the guys I played with came back, which was great for all of us to catch up, and then the game,” Donovan said. “That was only the second time I’ve been back there since I left. One time the Florida team went there and played. I’ve been back in Providence, but I hadn’t seen a game.”