LaVine sits for Bulls, Jones returns sooner than expected from broken finger
Derrick Jones Jr. was a surprise addition to the Bulls lineup Saturday.
He hadn't played since the Jan. 12 game against Brooklyn when he hyperextended his right knee less than a minute into the contest. While getting ready to return from that injury, he broke his right index finger during a scrimmage.
The original timeline was listed as 6-8 weeks, but coach Billy Donovan said playing with a splint was a possibility.
Jones checked in during the Bulls' first substitution of the game at the 5:43 mark of the first quarter and had a dark wrap on the injured finger.
"I think the biggest thing was for the first couple weeks was letting the finger calm down and the discomfort calm down," Donovan said. "I think we got it to that place. Then the next thing was, 'Could he get out there and do some contact?'
"We've obviously been limited with practices. We tried to create some situations for him after shootarounds, even days we've had off."
Jones started eight games for the Bulls this season and played a key role at times. The 2020 dunk contest champ fit in well when the Bulls were able to play with pace. He began Saturday's action averaging 6.3 points.
"I'm not going to say he feels 100%, he doesn't," Donovan said of Jones. "But the doctors have always felt very comfortable that he could come back. The healing process is going to be 6-8 weeks, but him playing was really going to be on how much discomfort he had to deal with."
LaVine sits out:
Not surprisingly, both Zach LaVine and Javonte Green sat out Saturday's game. LaVine didn't seem 100% on Friday against Minnesota, while Green took a brutal fall late in Friday's game, although his official injury was listed as right midfoot soreness.
Bulls coach Billy Donovan said LaVine has been dealing more with a sore left knee than the back spasms that kept him out of two games recently. Between the knee and back, LaVine has missed eight of the last 17 games.
"We had basically talked about limiting his back-to-back opportunities, to kind of give his knee a chance to rest, but we're probably going to end up going day-to-day with him just to see how he's feeling," Donovan said. "I think he feels like he probably needs this game to feel a little bit better.
"I think the back's been pretty good. I think he's got that kind of resolved and under control. It's been really more the knee soreness he's been dealing with."
Mentor matchup:
OKC coach Mark Daigneault caught his big break in coaching from Billy Donovan. After serving as a student manager at UConn, then spending three years at Holy Cross, he landed a job at Florida under Donovan as a grad assistant. When three Florida assistants left for other jobs a year later, he joined the staff. Daigneault was later hired to coach Oklahoma City's G-League team a year before Donovan became the Thunder head coach in 2015.
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