The Chicago Bulls are currently in second place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 17-9, only one-game behind the Brooklyn Nets. They have been excellent this NBA season, overcoming any challenge that has been put in front of them. But, they are about to face arguably their toughest challenge of all.
The Bulls have already had to deal with the league’s health and safety protocols this season, as Nikola Vucevic missed seven games and about two weeks of action. They handled his absence rather well, going 4-3. But, overcoming the loss of one player is a lot easier than what they are facing for the foreseeable future.
Chicago is going to be without multiple players, Matt Thomas is the fourth Bull to enter the league’s health and safety protocols. Thomas was with the team preparing for their game tonight against the Cleveland Cavaliers but will be heading back to Chicago.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Thomas is expected to miss multiple games. That likely means that he has tested positive for COVID-19, but has not yet been confirmed. If he did have a positive test result, Thomas will be sidelined for at least 10 days or until he can return two negative tests with a minimum of 24 hours apart.
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Thomas is joining DeMar DeRozan, Coby White and Javonte Green, who are also sidelined because of the league’s health and safety protocols. That is a tough blow for Billy Donovan, who will likely be without three rotation players and a depth piece in Thomas for at least 10 days.
In addition to those four, the Bulls were already dealing with some injuries. Patrick Williams is in the midst of a four-to-six month recovery from a wrist injury and Alex Caruso will be sidelined for at least a week because of a hamstring strain.
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As a result, the Chicago Bulls could apply for a hardship waiver, as they are down six players from their roster.
Chicago had only 11 active players, as of right now, for their 115-92 loss to the Cavaliers on Wednesday. Lonzo Ball, Zach LaVine and Vucevic will be doing a lot of the heavy lifting for the time being. Rookie guard Ayo Dosunmu will continue seeing a ton of minutes as well, as he played 41 in Monday’s matchup against the Denver Nuggets.
