Although it looked like at one point that the Chicago Bulls were going to have the 30-year-old two-time All-Star selection and 6-foot-11 and 220 pound center Nikola Vucevic would be available in this game, he is now listed as out. First-year head coach Billy Donovan will now be without Vucevic for the first time since landing him at the trade deadline from the Orlando Magic back on March 25 due to an injury issue.
Donovan and the Bulls need all the help they can get right now, but they will have to try and get a win over the much-improved Atlanta Hawks and star point guard Trae Young on May 1 on the road without one of their best players. The Bulls are now missing an important trio of players against the Hawks on May 1, with star shooting guard Zach LaVine and shooting guard/small forward Troy Brown Jr. also out for this game.
LaVine is still out for the Bulls due to a violation of the league’s health and safety protocols he originally found out about a few weeks back. And Brown Jr. is set to miss another game for the Bulls due to a lingering lower-body injury issue.
Nikola Vucevic is now OUT vs. Hawks, per Bulls PR.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) May 1, 2021
Chicago Bulls without star C Nikola Vuvcevic vs. Hawks
With LaVine absent for the Bulls for more than the past two weeks up to this point, the reliance on Vooch became pretty large of late. Beyond Vooch and second-year point guard Coby White, the Bulls don’t have all that many outlets to find offense.
That struggle might become even more real for the Bulls, who are probably going to have a very high usage night out of the likes of White and fourth-year power forward Lauri Markkanen compared to their usual workloads. The Bulls are at least set to get Markkanen back on the night of May 1 after he missed their last game.
Markkanen actually mostly remained healthy for the Bulls post-trade deadline. And he might find himself in the starting five with center Daniel Theis since Vooch had this last-minute announcement that he will be missing against the Hawks.
Donovan and the Bulls hold a record fo 26-37 following their April 30 loss at home at the United Center at the hands of the divisional foe Milwaukee Bucks. Tip-off time between the Bulls and Hawks is set for 7 p.m. CT at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, GA, on May 1.