The Washington Wizards are finally back. The Memphis Grizzlies aren’t ready yet. Washington played at San Antonio on Sunday night, the Wizards’ first game in 13 days after seeing six players.
What to Watch For
• I know it sounds silly, but the Bulls have to worry about Cody Zeller. The Hornets starting center is back in the lineup after suffering a hand injury, and he gave the team all kinds of problems in their four matchups last season. He is a physical big man and strong rim-runner, and the Bulls will be without their best interior defender/rebounder. Wendell Carter Jr. is out tonight with a quad injury, which means Daniel Gafford will be forced to play a pivotal role.
• Besides the Carter Jr. absence, the Bulls are pretty healthy! Tomas Satoransky and Chandler Hutchison are both set to be available for the first time since December 29th, 2020. The Bulls offense has been running smoothly in their absence, so their impact on that end may feel minimal, but their presence on the defensive end is a different story. Hutchison has always been an active and scrappy defender, and while Satoransky isn’t anything special, his positional size should prove valuable
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One win, two wins, three wins …. four?
• All the Chicago Bulls have to do to reach a .500 record tonight is beat the defending champions.
That’s it? Easy! Back at the United Center to take on the Lakers, the team will likely be hungry to redeem themselves after a close 3-point loss earlier this month. Considering how closely contested the game was last time out, and how well the team has played on the offensive end this season, I don’t think it’s crazy to believe the Bulls could keep this one within striking distance. At the same time, they will arguably be facing an improved Laker team, as Anthony Davis and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are expected to be back on the floor after missing the first matchup on January 8th.
I know Wendell Carter Jr. has had maybe more than his fair share of injuries in his young career (which is particularly frustrating given his obvious upside), but they continue to be mostly unrelated, fluky occurrences.
And unfortunately, a mid-practice collision with Denzel Valentine has resulted in a right quad contusion that’ll keep him out of tonight’s game against the Hornets.
Patrick Williams is available for tonight s game vs. Charlotte.
Wendell Carter Jr. is OUT tonight (quad). pic.twitter.com/H4VkPZ55Vl
But that’s the bad news.
The good news is that the rookie, Patrick Williams, is returning to action – and presumably the starting lineup – tonight after missing Monday’s tilt against the Rockets with a hip contusion. He’s joined by Tomas Satoransky and Chandler Hutchison, who are both on track to play, as well.
One day after leaving practice early with a thigh bruise, Wendell Carter Jr. has been downgraded to doubtful for tomorrow night’s game against the Charlotte Hornets.
Bulls health updates, per Billy Donovan:
Patrick Williams (hip) practiced. Wendell Carter Jr. (thigh) did not, and is doubtful for tomorrow, though he’ll travel with team to Charlotte
However, Donovan did tell reporters on Thursday that Carter Jr. will travel with the team to Charlotte, which could tell us that the team doesn’t expect this to be any kind of lingering issue.
I think it’s worth a note, though, that this particular Carter Jr. absence would come at a rather unfortunate time for the Bulls. Earlier today, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski did report that Charlotte’s Cody Zeller plans to make his return to the court on Friday against Chicago. An aggressive big man, he recorded two double-doubles against the Bulls last season and gave them all kinds of trouble in each of their four matchups. The pressure