Coach Billy Donovan realized several of his players didn’t look right late in the game Friday against the Spurs.
A day later, he found out the exact toll.
Guard Ayo Dosunmu (neck, back) and center Andre Drummond (strained shoulder) missed the game Saturday against the 76ers. The only good news was that neither injury was deemed serious and neither player would be out more than a few days.
But the timing wasn’t great.
Since taking over at point guard for Lonzo Ball (knee surgery), Dosunmu was improving each game, especially his shooting from three-point range. The former Morgan Park standout is shooting 45.8% from long range and taking the shot with confidence.
“Just my hard work,’’ Dosunmu said. “That was a part of my game that I knew I had to improve.’’
Last season as a rookie, Dosunmu wasn’t awful from three-point range at 37.6%, but he knew he would be leaned on early while Ball was recovering. When the Bulls’ offense was at its best last season, Ball was open in the corner and making that shot consistently.
Dosunmu is trying to do the same.
“The reason why I think he has such great growth ahead of him is because of his ability to really learn and pick up things,’’ Donovan said. “He can pick it up through film; he can pick it up through his own personal experience when you talk to him. He’s certainly had a lot of growth in [shooting three-pointers].
“The next step for him is reading the floor on when we want him to drive. There are times the ball is getting to him, and it probably needs to be swung instead of driven. Sometimes he’s got to see what’s going on around him, and he’ll get that through experience.’’
As for Drummond, the big man took a nasty fall in the 129-124 loss to the Spurs but opted to play through it. His range of motion was an issue Saturday morning, so he was ruled out.
As was the case with Dosunmu, Drummond’s loss was tough to overcome because of his effectiveness on the boards. He had 17 points and 14 rebounds against the Spurs.
The Bulls will take Sunday off, and Monday will be a practice day. Donovan was hoping to have both players available for the game in Brooklyn on Tuesday.
Maxing out
When forward Patrick Williams was talking last week about finding a comfort zone while playing alongside All-Stars Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan, one of the names that was brought up was 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey.
Maxey also came out of the 2020 draft class and has had to figure out how to play with All-Stars Joel Embiid and James Harden.
And Maxey has done more than figure it out. He had a 44-point game Friday against the Raptors.
Sixers coach Doc Rivers says it’s a two-way street that young players have to navigate. They have to find their way but also show enough for veterans to trust them. That could be the biggest difference between Williams and Maxey right now.
“Especially in Tyrese’s case, you can trust him,’’ Rivers said. “You can trust giving him the ball down the stretch. Trust is a tough one for veterans. Selective passing at the end of games to me kills teams. You’ve got to give the ball to the open guy, and the more we do that, the better for our team.’’
