Trail Blazers Vs Bulls: Bulls Lose Jalen Smith and Patrick Williams to Injuries
With the upcoming trail blazers vs bulls meeting on the schedule, the Chicago Bulls announced that Jalen Smith and Patrick Williams have been ruled out, deepening an injury list that has already grown since the NBA trade deadline.
Trail Blazers Vs Bulls: Smith officially ruled out after leaving Pistons meeting
Jalen Smith was forced to leave the team’s meeting with the Detroit Pistons after experiencing tightness in his previously-injured calf, and he came into Thursday as doubtful before being officially ruled out for the meeting with the Trail Blazers.
Williams held out after quad imaging; had moved into Knicks starting lineup
Patrick Williams was held out of practice on Wednesday and missed imaging on his quad; he entered the day as doubtful and has now been ruled out. Williams had recently moved into the starting lineup against the New York Knicks and was playing solid basketball, appearing far more assertive on offense and specifically in the distributing department.
Ivey and Simons already sidelined after trade-deadline period
The Bulls’ injury report grew in the aftermath of the NBA trade deadline. Jaden Ivey, described as arguably the most important player to evaluate post-deadline, alerted the team of knee soreness and has been ruled out for at least two weeks. Sharpshooter Anfernee Simons re-aggravated a fracture in his wrist that was suffered in training camp with the Boston Celtics and has joined Ivey on the sideline.
Donovan: both will be out at least a week before ramp-up
Billy Donovan shared before the game that both Jalen Smith and Patrick Williams are expected to be sidelined for at least a week before starting their ramp-up (h/t K. C. Johnson), a timeline that puts each player in a position to miss more than four games.
What this means on the court for the upcoming matchup
From an on-court perspective, the absences are a blunt setback for Donovan and the Bulls’ rotation: the team is already described in the provided context as incredibly undersized, and it will now be without two of its larger and longer options in the frontcourt. The article’s final sentence about Williams—"Williams offers some much-needed streng"—is unclear in the provided context.
That leaves Chicago shorthanded for the trail blazers vs bulls meeting while the club works through recovery and imaging results; the next confirmed event in the context is the Bulls’ meeting with the Trail Blazers, for which Smith and Williams are officially out.
