Jalen Smith averages 10.1 points as Bulls brace for backcourt returns

Jalen Smith is averaging 10. 1 points and 7. 0 rebounds this season for the Chicago Bulls, and the team could see guards Josh Giddey and Tre Jones listed as probable to return for Thursday’s game against the Toronto Raptors.

Jalen Smith’s season by the numbers

Smith, the Bulls’ forward wearing number 25, stands 6'8" and weighs 215 lbs. Born March 16, 2000, in Baltimore, MD, he played college basketball at Maryland and this season is producing 10. 1 points, 7. 0 rebounds and 1. 3 assists per game.

Giddey and Tre Jones probable to return vs. Raptors

Point guard Josh Giddey went through a full practice on Wednesday and expects to make his return on Thursday against the visiting Toronto Raptors. Giddey has missed the past eight games after aggravating a left hamstring on Jan. 28; he sustained the initial injury on Dec. 29 against the Minnesota Timberwolves and missed the next 11 games. Giddey, 23, is posting career-best numbers this season with 18. 6 points, 8. 8 assists and 8. 6 rebounds across 34 games (31 starts).

What the immediate lineup update looks like

Tre Jones, 26, is also listed as probable for Thursday and has not played since Jan. 22. Jones is averaging 12. 4 points, 5. 8 assists and a team-leading 1. 3 steals in 38 games (20 starts) this season. With both guards listed probable for the matchup in Toronto, the Bulls enter Thursday’s game with the possibility of returning two primary ball-handlers who have missed extended time this month.

The next confirmed event on the schedule is Thursday's home game against the Toronto Raptors, when the team will find out whether Giddey and Jones will take the court and how that availability affects rotation decisions. Coaches and staff have listed both players as probable for that contest.