During a pretty insane stretch of the regular season schedule for the surging Chicago Bulls, the team is looking to continue their winning ways as they get the team back together after the turn of the calendar year. The Bulls were one of the first teams to get hit hard by a rash of COVID-19-related issues sending players and coaches into the league’s health and safety protocol.
And one of the last notable players for the Bulls in the health and safety protocol is point guard Lonzo Ball. Missing five games now in the health and safety protocol going back a couple of weeks, Lonzo would be a very welcome addition back to the rotation for the Bulls.
The last game that Lonzo played in for the Bulls came back on Dec. 20, in a win over the Houston Rockets. But it looks like the Bulls could have Lonzo back in the mix as the team gets ready to take on the Orlando Magic on Jan. 3.
Chicago Bulls could reportedly have Lonzo Ball back vs. Magic on Jan. 3
Lonzo Ball is no longer listed on Bulls’ injury report.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) January 2, 2022
Javonte Green, Alex Caruso and Tyler Cook are all listed as out vs. Magic with their respective injuries.
Tony Bradley and Marko Simonovic remain in protocols.
Lonzo is reportedly out of the health and safety protocol to round out the weekend and could be available for the Bulls against the Magic to start off next week. He is reportedly no longer listed on the official injury report for the Bulls meeting with the Magic on Jan. 3.
In Lonzo’s absence, though, interim head coach Chris Fleming and the Bulls did witness the rise of third-year point guard Coby White in the starting unit. Coby is playing his best basketball of the season of late and has filled in for Lonzo’s absence admirably in the starting unit.
Yet, the hope is that the Bulls will get strong second unit play out of Coby upon the return of Lonzo to the starting unit. It should also help the Bulls gain more strength back on the defensive end of the floor with Lonzo back in the top unit.
There are still some key players that could b missing for the Bulls in the Jan. 3 meeting with the Magic. Point guard Alex Caruso, center Tony Bradley, and shooting guard/forward Javonte Green could all still be missing for the Bulls next week.
After an insane game-winner from star shooting guard/forward DeMar DeRozan in a win over the Washington Wizards on the night of Jan. 1, the Bulls are sporting a record of 24-10. DeRozan hit two straight buzzer-beating three-pointers to win back-to-back games for the Bulls to knock off the Indiana Pacers and Wizards on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, respectively.