The Bulls have missed Torrey Craig’s three-point shooting, but where the impact of his injury has really been felt is on the defensive end, especially against opposing size.
Nam Y. Huh/AP
SACRAMENTO – The Bulls have been playing short-handed in the frontcourt for quite some time, and in some lineup rotations just playing flat short.
Help could be on the way on this current four-city West Coast trip, however.
Torrey Craig, who has been sidelined since the all-star break with a right knee sprain, continued to ramp up activity with the training staff, again getting individual work during the Monday morning shootaround.
While coach Billy Donovan couldn’t point to a specific game in which Craig could be available, it sounded sooner than later.
“He’s really moving in a really good direction,” Donovan said. “I don’t know about this road trip, it’s not out of the question. A lot of it depends on how he continues to progress, but I think the medical guys are pretty optimistic of where he is at this point and time, so he’s definitely progressing closer and closer to playing.”
What the Bulls have to be careful with will be his minutes.
Before this injury, the 6-5 Craig missed more than six weeks with plantar fasciitis, finally came back for six games entering the break, and then injured the knee.
“In my conversation with 9the medical staff) it will definitely be a minute restriction and a pretty strong one as he works his way back,” Donovan said.
While Craig doesn’t give the Bulls a punch in the scoring department, what he does bring is three-point shooting (37.4%) this year, but a key wing defender to throw on opposing forwards. With Patrick Williams (left foot) lost for the season, the Bulls have been very thin in that department as Donovan has leaned on Alex Caruso and his “jumbo lineup” of Nikola Vucevic and Andre Drummond.
Against bigger lineups like Minnesota and Cleveland, Vucevic and Drummond found some success, but when there’s an athletic four to have to chase around that’s when the Bulls have been exposed.
The hope is that Craig could be ready for the backend of the back-to-back on Thursday, getting some playing time against Golden State.
Eyes forward
Donovan has been around long enough to know that the Bulls would need a team ahead of them in the standings to really collapse in order to jump up from the No. 9 spot in the Eastern Conference.
Entering the Kings game on Monday, the Bulls trailed Indiana by five games and Miami by six.
“We talked about that the other day at practice,” Donovan said. “The biggest thing is how much we can move up or move down is predicated on how well we play or don’t play. If you’re fortunate to get into a situation where you’re able to have the opportunity to play after the regular season is over with, to cruise into that or glide into that? You want to playing well at that time of year. I’m not personally watching that stuff.”
The Bulls do have two more meetings with the Pacers but are in a spot where they would need a lot of help.
“The biggest thing we have to do, and I know it sounds cliché, we have to worry about ourselves,” the coach added. “We can only control what’s in front of us. This road trip is going to be really challenging. We don’t need to be watching what’s going on around the league at this point.”
Williams update
The Bulls are hoping to get a more definite timetable on Williams with the fourth-year player set to have his foot surgery on Wednesday.
Williams spoke to the media last week and his goal was to be ready for full activity by July.