On the night of Dec. 14, second-year head coach Billy Donovan and his depleted Chicago Bulls team are set to take on the division foe Detroit Pistons at home at the United Center. While this would usually be a game that the Bulls are heavily favored in this season, they are the most shorthanded team in the NBA right now.
Donovan and the Bulls are now missing more than half of their 15-man roster due to the league’s health and safety protocol. Two of the most recent additions to the list of absences for the Bulls due to the league’s health and safety protocol came over the weekend with star shooting guard Zach LaVine and shooting guard/small forward Troy Brown Jr. coming down with what looked to be COVID-19 cases.
It feels like the entire Bulls team essentially has caught COVID-19 right now amid this bad outbreak. A few of the other notable absences for Donovan and the Bulls due to health and safety protocol are star shooting guard/forward DeMar DeRozan, point guard Coby White, rookie point guard Ayo Dosunmu, shooting guard/forward Javonte Green, and forward Derrick Jones Jr., among others.
With the number of absences that the Bulls are facing this week thanks to this recent outbreak of COVID-19 on the team, it looks like they will try to postpone the meeting with the Pistons set for Dec. 14.
Chicago Bulls reportedly want the Dec. 14 matchup against the Pistons to be postponed
According to a report from K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago, the Bulls “have asked the NBA to postpone their game on Tuesday” as they get set to take on the Pistons at home.
The Chicago Bulls have asked the NBA to postpone their game on Tuesday against the Detroit Pistons due to so many players being out because of COVID but there has been no action by the league and they will likely have to play that game, per @KCJHoop.
— Daniel Greenberg (@ChiSportUpdates) December 13, 2021
This report that was posted on Twitter by Daniel Greenberg on Dec. 13 also notes that the Bulls asked the league to postpone their matchup against the Pistons “due to so many players being out because of COVID”.
Yet, it is obviously worth mentioning that the NBA reportedly hasn’t taken any action on this request, which means that the Bulls are increasingly likely to play their game on Dec. 14.
It is concerning for the Bulls that the league hasn’t taken any action on this, granted we don’t know whether the NBA actually responded to this request in a timely manner. The NBA has a rule that each team needs at least eight players active to play. And if the Bulls are able to get Coby back for this game, they will have eight in the rotation.
Donovan and the Bulls are set to carry a record of 17-10 into their Dec. 14 meeting with the Pistons, who are currently riding a 12-game losing streak. Tip-off time between the Bulls and Pistons at the United Center on Dec. 14 is set for 7 p.m. CT.