Bulls head west without Vučević
Center out after testing positive for COVID-19
SAN FRANCISCO — The loss of Nikola Vučević for the five-game West Coast trip after the Chicago Bulls center tested positive for COVID-19 is a tough blow to a team starting to find its rhythm in the early season.
“Yeah, it sucks, man,” Zach LaVine said Friday at the Chase Center before the Bulls’ nationally televised game against the Golden State Warriors. “Obviously just wishing for his health, first off, for him and his family. And then we’re just going to have to battle and work this out without him until he gets back.
“Big blow. He’s one of the main pieces of our team. I just feel like that last game he was getting his rhythm back.”
Coach Billy Donovan said Tony Bradley and Alize Johnson will get minutes at center, and the Bulls will likely have to play some smaller rotations without their starting big man, perhaps with Derrick Jones Jr.
Donovan said he texted with Vučević on Friday morning, and Vučević told him his symptoms are mild, comparing it to a cold. Donovan assumed Vučević played with COVID-19 in the win over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday, the center’s best offensive game of the season. The coach said Vučević will not be on the trip, which includes four games after Friday.
With the Philadelphia 76ers having three players test positive, are there any fears of the virus spreading through the Bulls clubhouse?
“I feel like everybody has been pretty safe with us,” LaVine said. “We’ve been wearing our masks a lot. We have got a lot of tests done the last couple days, and it seems like everybody has been safe. Finger crossed. You hope nothing like that happens. Obviously it can, but that’s a worst-case scenario.”
Donovan said it’s something many teams have to deal with. The Bulls roster is 100% vaccinated, according to NBC Sports Chicago.
“Yeah, there’s nothing really we could do,” Donovan said. “It’s just part of the NBA season the last couple years, just because everybody is dealing with it. We’re not the only team. Philadelphia has had to deal with it, different teams have had to deal with it, and we may have to deal with it. Outside of (Vučević), he’s the only guy in protocols. Outside of that everybody else has been cleared to play.”
LaVine said Bulls players started getting tested daily after the back-to-back games against the 76ers. Donovan said they were all tested Friday, including the coaches.
Donovan called it “unfortunate” timing with Vučević’ starting to come out of his early-season shooting slump, including strong performances in wins against the Brooklyn Nets and the Mavs. Vučević creates space with his 3-point shooting and playmaking ability, with Bradley and Johnson lacking in those areas. Donovan said Jones could be used “in a pinch.”
Donovan could try smaller, faster lineups for parts of games, but the Bulls already are undersized and lacking in rebounding.
“We’ll have to see,” Donovan said. “Every game is going to end up being a little bit different. We do have some flexibility with Tony’s size, and Alize gives us switching. We did that a little in the game against Dallas, when they put (Kristaps) Porziņģis at the five and felt like maybe Alize was a better matchup against Porziņģis with all the picks and pops.
“You just have to see how the game is going. Both of those guys have been in the rotation. We’ll have to use those guys as best we can. And if we feel like we want to get into switching one through five, a guy like Derrick provides a lot of opportunity to do that. The hard part is because we’ve played Alize there, Tony there and Vooch there, that’s three centers. We really haven’t gotten a lot of reps there with Derrick or Javonte (Green) at the five. It’s probably something we may have to get to on this trip with Vooch being out.”
Friday’s game against the 10-1 Warriors is a huge test for the Bulls (8-3). Warriors forward Draymond Green might be a game-time decision after suffering a bruised right thigh in a game Wednesday.
“We know they have the best record in the league,” LaVine said. “Coming in you know what type of team they are and what they bring. We know that we’re trying to compete and play against those type of teams.
“So it’s another big challenge for us, and we’re going in here to win a game.”