Bulls don't plan on scheduling rest days for LaVine
With the shuffling of the schedule, Thursday's game in Atlanta turned out to be the third and final makeup game of the three the Bulls had postponed in December due to player availability.
It created a new set of back-to-back games, since the Bulls host Milwaukee on Friday. Coach Billy Donovan said there are no advance plans to rest Zach LaVine on back-to-back sets.
"We've talked about this with Zach," Donovan said. "He loves to play and loves to compete. I think because of where the doctors are at that he met with, the injections he has gotten, he feels really good.
"That's today. That's not to sit there and say tomorrow, it's a double overtime game and he plays 50 minutes and he doesn't feel great, then we'll make those kinds of decisions."
LaVine missed a total of eight games with a sore left knee. He skipped the final three contests before the all-star break to have the knee checked out by a specialist in Los Angeles. LaVine said he received cortisone and platelet-rich-plasma during that visit.
Since then, LaVine has had no problems, but admitted he likely won't be 100% for the rest of the season and may consider an arthroscopic procedure this summer.
"I talked to him about the back-to-backs specifically, where his mindset was at, and he specifically told me he wants to see how he's feeling day-to-day instead of like predetermining, 'I'm sitting here, I'm sitting here,'" Donovan said. "I think if he feels like he can play, he wants to play. I would say more likely he's probably playing unless he feels like after this game he needs time to recuperate."
Friday's game will be the first visit this season by the defending champion Bucks, as well as the first time the teams have met since Grayson Allen was ejected for a flagrant foul that resulted in a broken right wrist for Alex Caruso.
Winning habits lacking:
With a two-game losing streak heading into Thursday's action, Bulls coach Billy Donovan talked about some of his concerns.
"With some of the things we do, we beat ourselves," he said. "We can't waste possessions or waste opportunity, whether we play really good defense and a guy leaves his feet and we foul. Or it's a transition situation and our communication is not the level it needs to be. Or it's pick-and-roll coverage and our communication's not where it needs to be and we've got two guys who are not on the same page.
"Those kind of details, if you want to be a team that's playing at the end of the year, you have to do those things consistently. There's urgency all the time to build out those kinds of habits.
DeRozan gets award:
DeMar DeRozan was an easy choice for Eastern Conference player of the month, which was announced Thursday. He averaged 34.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5. 2 assists in February, while shooting 55% from the field.