The Bulls won’t change their offensive approach over the next four-to-six weeks while Caleb Wilson recovers from a fractured right hand, writes Jeff Agrest of The Chicago Sun-Times. Coach Tiago Splitter has started giving more responsibility to his star rookie, who is second on the team in scoring at 18.9 PPG. Splitter said other players will have to replace Wilson’s contributions until he returns.
‘‘Of course, we’re going to miss him, but it doesn’t change what we want to do,’’ Splitter stated. ‘‘Everybody else is going to have more shots. I don’t expect just one guy to be more aggressive. Naturally, the game’s going to find the shots, and the players are going to take those shots. I’m not worried about that.’’
Wilson will be closely involved with the team while he’s healing, as Splitter said he’ll attend practices and watch video. Splitter added that Wilson will get a different perspective on the game by watching from the bench, and the injured hand shouldn’t affect his ability to stay in shape.
‘‘It’s just bad luck, a freak injury,’’ Splitter said. ‘‘Just have to be patient.’’
There’s more on the Bulls:
- Nic Claxton is progressing toward his normal workload after returning from a strained left hamstring, which means he and Jalen Smith will be used more often in double-big lineups, Agrest adds. Claxton was restricted to 16 to 20 minutes per night in his first two games, and Splitter hopes to raise that to 20 to 24 minutes.
- Wilson’s absence should give Matas Buzelis an opportunity to rediscover the role he had in the offense last season, Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune observes in a subscriber-only story. She notes that Wilson and Buzelis have been an awkward fit so far, as Chicago has lost nine of the 10 games when they’ve both been available and they haven’t found a “comfort zone” to complement each other’s talents.
- Patrick Williams reached double figures in scoring for the first time this season in Friday’s win over Atlanta, notes Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic. Williams has been seeing rotation minutes off the bench in the past four games after recovering from a quad injury.
- The frustrations of a 1-9 start didn’t result in any locker room issues, Smith tells Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. “We’re doing a good job of that,” he said. “We’re a young team, we’re really connected with one another, you know. Pretty much everyone is around the same age, give or take a few guys, so we have a great relationship. We knew it was going to be hard – whole new front office, whole new coaching staff – we just got to put together wins. The NBA is a big boys’ league, you lose, you lose, but you want to go out fighting. I think we’re making the right strides. Everyone is trusting the process, everyone is putting in extra work, watching film, making sure we’re correcting our mistakes.”
- Leonard Miller has fallen out of the rotation lately, but he’s likely to get more chances as the season wears on, Cowley adds. “He had an outstanding summer for us, preseason,” Splitter said. “… He didn’t start the season the way he wanted, but hopefully he can bounce back and play the way he was during the summer.”