Just when it was all coming together for guard Ayo Dosunmu<\/b>.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a good thing he\u2019s used to adversity.<\/p>\n
The Bulls announced Saturday that the sore Achilles that kept him out of the previous game now is being categorized as a strained right calf after they were able to run Dosunmu through some imaging tests Friday.<\/p>\n
He\u2019ll be shut down for 10 days, then reevaluated, but because of the sensitivity of calf injuries, a quick return shouldn\u2019t be expected, especially for a player who counts on his start and stop like Dosunmu does.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet it calm done,\u201d coach Billy Donovan<\/b> said. \u201cNo tears or anything like that, but certainly a strain showed up. With the way he plays, it\u2019s probably in an area that will continue to cause problems unless he rests it.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re always going to be susceptible to causing more problems. It was something that was caught earlier, which is a positive.\u201d<\/p>\n
After a slow start, Dosunmu seemed to be finding his groove in December. He was averaging 14.2 points and 6.4 assists in his last nine games and had put his three-point-shooting woes behind him by making 39.5% from long range.<\/p>\n
Dosunmu shot only 32% from three-point range in November.<\/p>\n
With Dosunmu out, the Bulls lose arguably their best two-way backcourt player.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe hasn\u2019t shot the ball at the same level that he did a year ago, but I felt that he was really starting to come on the last five or 10 games,\u201d Donovan said. \u201cThe thing I love about him is the mental part of it. He\u2019s a tough, competitive guy, and I think he\u2019s learned, he\u2019s grown. He takes challenges on defensively. .\u2009.\u2009. <\/b>I don\u2019t want to sit here and say he\u2019s our best two-way player, but certainly he\u2019s a guy we feel comfortable putting on the other team\u2019s best perimeter player.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s also done a really good job offensively, forcing the pace and getting the ball up the floor and putting us in situations where we can generate quick, easy shots.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luckily for Donovan, he has depth at guard. Lonzo Ball<\/b> was back after dealing with illness the previous two games, and Josh Giddey<\/b> (right ankle) also returned against the Bucks.<\/p>\n
Then there\u2019s Jevon Carter, <\/b>fresh off a 26-point performance against the Hawks in which he hit seven threes, waiting in the wings.<\/p>\n
When asked if he was concerned that Dosunmu would cool off or get out of rhythm while sidelined, Donovan said he\u2019s built to overcome that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would say there\u2019s always a common denominator of how guys handle adversity, and the guys that are the most successful at handling it, those are the guys that look inward instead of outward,\u201d Donovan said. \u201cI think with Coby<\/b> [White<\/b>] and Ayo, both of those guys are good at assuming responsibility that they can get better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Support for Brown<\/b><\/p>\n
Donovan and Bucks coach Doc Rivers <\/b>expressed their disappointment over the Kings\u2019 firing of Mike Brown<\/b>. Was it just a matter of coaches protecting coaches? Not in this case, Donovan said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know Mike; he\u2019s a great guy; I think he\u2019s a terrific coach,\u201d Donovan said. \u201cYou hate to see something like that happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Missing size<\/b><\/p>\n
It\u2019s never good to be undersized against the Bucks, but backup center Jalen Smith<\/b>, <\/b>who\u2019s dealing with a sore left ankle, was unavailable for the Bulls. The injury wasn\u2019t believed to be serious, however.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It originally was diagnosed as a sore right Achilles, but the Bulls brought Dosunmu back to Chicago for imaging tests, which revealed a strained right calf. The team will have a better idea of a timetable when he is reevaluated in 10 days.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":21910,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"\n