CLEVELAND — Patrick Williams will have to wait until after the All-Star break to determine the next steps in his injury recovery.
Williams missed his 12th game of the season Wednesday in the Chicago Bulls’ 108-105 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers after playing in all 82 last season. The fourth-year forward has been sidelined for two weeks with acute bone edema in his left foot.
When Williams was originally sidelined Jan. 31, the Bulls medical team planned a reevaluation in two weeks — which would have been Wednesday, just before players departed for the NBA All-Star break. But coach Billy Donovan said the Bulls will not attempt to ramp Williams back into activity until the end of the break, which concludes Monday.
“The hope now is that once we get into the tail end of the All-Star break that he can actually start doing some more things,” Donovan said. “That’s going to be the real big thing of how did he respond to that. But in terms of his progress of what they’ve been trying to do in terms of calming the foot down and eliminating some of the discomfort he was having while walking, that’s gone. Now the next step is, OK, he starts running, jogging, cutting — what does that look like?”
This type of injury occurs when fluid builds up within a bone, resulting in swelling and pain. The best immediate treatment is rest, which has resulted in a restrictive lifestyle for Williams.
Donovan said Williams has been limited to using a stationary bicycle for all cardio activity. He has been confined to seated weightlifting activities and has continued to get up shots by sitting on a box to prevent any jarring trauma to his foot.
The treatment has worked — at least for now. Williams isn’t experiencing pain while walking after two weeks of limited activity and impact on his foot. But the next test will be how he responds to running, cutting and other activities next week.
Donovan said he has not been informed of any consideration for Williams to undergo surgery if he experiences pain while attempting to return.
Donovan did not rule out Williams playing next Thursday against the Boston Celtics. But between his reaction to impact and his need to rebuild game fitness, Williams likely will be a down-to-the-wire decision.
With Zach LaVine out for the season and key defenders Torrey Craig and Alex Caruso limited by injury, the Bulls have been stretched thin by the loss of Williams on defense and from 3-point range.
Here are six other takeaways from Wednesday’s loss in Cleveland.
1. Coby White’s moment
The Bulls looked to White to close Wednesday’s game, putting the ball in his hands for four crucial moments down the stretch. Two of those moments were successful. The other two weren’t. But regardless of the outcome, it was a critical growth moment for the fifth-year point guard.
White sank a 3-pointer to tie the game with 1:03 left, but he threw a poor pass to Nikola Vučević that resulted in a turnover with 17 seconds remaining. He then drew a foul and went 1-for-2 from the line with seven seconds left, but he missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer off a screen at the top of the arc.
Immediately after the game, White huddled with DeMar DeRozan to review film of the pass to Vučević and the missed shot, analyzing where he could have improved both plays.
“One thing that I learned from (DeRozan) is that whether the shot goes in or not, he’s living with it,” White said. “He gave me motivation after the game and just told me to move on from it and learn from it. I just can’t dwell on it.
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“Obviously would’ve loved to make the shot — I’m going to dwell on it anyways, I’m not going to lie. But I’m going to try to not dwell on it and let it carry over.”
And after that impromptu film session, here’s Coby White’s breakdown of what he learned from that pass to Vooch that resulted in a turnover: “I gotta slow down. I feel like I was too frantic.” https://t.co/tHYhJgVQ2c pic.twitter.com/5jvoSyBJ2e
— Julia Poe (@byjuliapoe) February 15, 2024
2. Slipping away
In a familiar pattern this season, Wednesday’s game was lost in the middle two quarters. The Bulls piled up a 17-point lead in the first half but allowed a 9-0 run by the Cavaliers that cut the lead to six by the end of the second quarter.
The Cavaliers took their first lead with just under 11 minutes left in regulation on a 3-pointer by Georges Niang and never led by more than three.
3. Big boys only
The Bulls first unveiled their two-big lineup utilizing Vučević and Andre Drummond against the Cavaliers to counter their size on the boards. And they returned to the look Wednesday, starting the game with both bigs on the court in an effort to fend off the length of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley.
This time the Bulls won the boards, outrebounding the Cavaliers 35-30 on the defensive glass and 9-6 on the offensive glass. They outscored Cleveland 8-7 in second-chance points, taking away one of the Cavs’ key advantages.
Drummond logged 10 points and 15 rebounds in his ninth start of the season. However, Vučević struggled on offense, shooting 4-for-16 and finishing with nine points and eight rebounds.
4. Making mistakes
While the Bulls didn’t give up the game on the boards, they did cede points in another key area: turnovers. The Cavaliers scored 22 points off 14 turnovers while the Bulls managed only nine points off eight turnovers. White turned the ball over four times while Drummond contributed three turnovers.
5. Down to the wire
The Bulls have now played 139 clutch minutes — measured as a margin of five or fewer points in the final five minutes — this season. They lead the league in both clutch minutes and overtime finishes (8).
6. Take a break
It’s officially time for a much-needed vacation as the Bulls head off to the All-Star break. They will not practice until Tuesday and won’t play again until next Thursday’s home game against the Celtics.