Could Ayo Dosunmu face a drop in playing time in the playoffs?

As second-year head coach Billy Donovan and the Chicago Bulls are currently taking on the Memphis Grizzlies and star point guard Ja Morant, there is still a focus on the long-term for this team. Donovan and the Bulls are looking to make a deep postseason run this year behind the efforts of their star trio of forward DeMar DeRozan, shooting guard Zach LaVine, and center Nikola Vucevic.

Between the three of them now, the Bulls have nine All-Star selections amid this star trio. But there are other important contributions that the Bulls are getting from some of their younger players at a key point of the season in the last month or so.

One of the younger players that are really stepping up in a newfound spotlight in a big way is rookie point guard Ayo Dosunmu. The Bulls have essentially moved Dosunmu into the starting unit for good of late with long-term injuries being unfortunately exacted upon point guards Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso in the last couple of months.

Dosunmu has filled this newfound role admirably, though. During the month of February, Dosunmu has averaged around 11 points per game, four rebounds, seven assists, one steal, and one block while shooting 51 percent from the field, 39 percent from beyond the arc, and 82 percent from the free-throw line.

Chicago Bulls might drop Ayo Dosunmu down the depth chart once key guards return from injury

It’s hard to argue with the results that Dosunmu has brought to the table for Donovan and the Bulls in the last few weeks. He’s playing like one of the most effective rookie guards in his draft class. And you would think that will have earned him a spot in the core part of the rotation for good through the rest of the season.

Although, it doesn’t sound like Dosunmu will be getting near as much playing time for the Bulls once some of the key injured players are able to return down the stretch this season. This is a subject brought up this week in an “Ask Sam Mailbag” with the Bulls team writer Sam Smith.

Smith mentioned that Donovan likes to run with a nine or 10-man rotation at most when it really comes to crunch time. Assuming the Bulls are able to get the trio of forward Patrick Williams, Caruso, and Lonzo, back before the postseason arrives, that means that Dosunmu would likely fall pretty far down the depth chart in the backcourt rotation.

Depending on how the depth chart would shake out between Dosunmu and third-year point guard Coby White, Ayo could really be facing a steep decrease in minutes in the playoffs.

A lot of this will likely hinge on how Dosunmu fairs down the stretch this season, though. If Dosunmu outplays Coby, or other injury issues emerge later on this season, then his playing time could stabilize a good bit the rest of the way.

Dosunmu and the Bulls are currently sitting on a record of 39-21 through their first 60 games of the regular season. The Bulls are now taking on Morant and the Grizzlies in the final game on the February slate for this team.