Javonte Green missed a second straight recreation Wednesday for the Chicago Bulls, however coach Billy Donovan assured Green he’ll regain his newfound beginning job at energy ahead each time he’s cleared to return to the court docket.
Green sat out in opposition to the Washington Wizards with a bone bruise in his proper knee that he suffered Friday in his first begin of the season in opposition to the Golden State Warriors. Donovan began Green over Patrick Williams in that recreation in a two-part change to the lineup, additionally inserting veteran Alex Caruso rather than second-year guard Ayo Dosunmu.
While the damage has prevented Donovan from persevering with the experiment this week, he mentioned the shake-up stays key to the staff’s path ahead.
“I get that game-to-game things can change, but when you go through seven, eight, nine games and you’re seeing that things don’t look great, we’ve got to try to move things around,” Donovan mentioned. “I don’t want to say that when you lose games you take a deep dive — you have to look at it regardless of how it’s going — but we want to maintain a level of consistency over 40 minutes.”
Green’s taking part in time has been inconsistent this season — considerably stunning after he emerged as a key position participant for the Bulls final season, beginning 45 video games whereas Williams was out with a wrist damage.
It was comprehensible that Green’s time could be diminished this season with Williams wholesome, however the younger ahead’s lack of consistency has created competitors for the beginning place all season.
Despite fewer minutes (16.4 per recreation, down from 23.4 final season), Green is averaging six factors, 3.1 rebounds and a steal. While he’s sidelined indefinitely, the Bulls will flip to Derrick Jones Jr. to imagine a better workload because the backup energy ahead behind Williams.
“(Jones) has always been ready whenever he’s been called upon,” Donovan mentioned. “Whether it’s been sometimes sitting the first half and then coming in the second half or even being in the rotation, he’s done a really, really good job. I’ve got a lot of confidence in him based on the situations he’s dealt with since he’s been here.”
Protecting the paint has been an space of marked enchancment for the Bulls this season. They’re permitting 47.7 factors within the paint per recreation, the sixth-lowest common within the league, whereas limiting opponents to 11.1 second-chance factors, the league low.
Veteran heart Andre Drummond has been a significant factor on this progress, averaging 7.7 rebounds and 0.4 blocks in solely 14.2 minutes per recreation off the bench. But Drummond’s taking part in time typically is diminished in opposition to smaller lineups; he logged solely 5 minutes in opposition to the Warriors on Friday and 6 in opposition to the Sacramento Kings on Sunday.
Donovan mentioned that’s essential to preserve the Bulls on tempo with smaller groups’ velocity off display motion. But it additionally places extra emphasis on the facility forwards to supply rim safety. Green is a key participant when the Bulls swap to this lineup, typically shifting right into a stretch-five position to supply defensive size whereas sustaining velocity.
“There’s times where we need to go a little bit smaller, whether it’s switching one through five or getting faster and quicker up the court,” Donovan mentioned. “Sometimes the vitality of the sport, tempo of the sport and velocity of the sport, we have to attempt to uptick that.
“You’re not going to be able to play everybody all the time. What we’re fighting for is a level of consistency between both the first- and second-unit guys.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com