ATLANTA — There was progress for injured Bulls guard Josh Giddey on Thursday.
A good on-the-court workout in Atlanta which involved sprinting and cutting. A major obstacle Giddey needed to clear with the right ankle injury, and one that could have him ready to return on Saturday after he missed his fourth straight game.
Could being the key word.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a long shot, but a lot is going to depend on how he responds off (Thursday’s) workout and then probably get another one in (Friday),” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said of a Saturday return for Giddey. “That will probably be a pretty good tell on if he’ll be available on Saturday.”
The Bulls could use him.
After starting the season with almost too many guards on the roster, the Bulls faced the Hawks without Giddey, Ayo Dosunmu and Lonzo Ball.
Ball missed the last game with illness and still wasn’t fully recovered so they left him in Chicago. Donovan sounded confident that he would be available against the Bucks when they returned home. Dosunmu has been dealing with a sore right Achilles and will have it looked at on Friday.
“It’s kind of lingered a little bit, gotten sorer and sorer,” Donovan said. “Some of it may be his minutes, I don’t know, but enough that they want to evaluate it and look at it. He is uncomfortable with it right now in terms of planting, pushing off, springing, jumping, that kind of stuff is bothering him.”
Rookie blues
The Bulls have been dealing with a lot of guys feeling under the weather the last month, and the latest hit was rookie Matas Buzelis.
While he did make the trip to Atlanta, they opted to keep him away from the rest of the team and shut him down for the night against the Hawks.