Isaac Okoro

Bulls Notes: Vucevic, Collins, Smith, White, Draft Night, Okoro, Jones

Nikola Vucevic sat for the last 19 minutes of the Bulls’ 129-126 win over Charlotte on Friday, which snapped Chicago’s seven-game losing streak. Head coach Billy Donovan said the decision did not reflect his long-term plans for the center position, according to Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune.

Zach Collins wound up playing 20 minutes, contributing 16 points and eight rebounds, while Jalen Smith logged 17 minutes and grabbed 10 rebounds.

“Whatever the case may be — maybe next game it’s not my night,” Collins said. “Maybe it’s Stix (Smith’s) night closing the game, maybe it’s Vooch’s night. We’ve got really good bigs that can finish games. Now we’re at the point where we can play the 4 and the 5. I just think it’s the tribute to the level of bigs we have that we can mess with the lineups like that.”

Here’s more on the Bulls:

  • Amid a report that the Timberwolves have inquired on Coby White, the Bulls guard replied that he’d prefer to stay put, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network (Twitter links). “I love being here. I love being on this team,” said White, who is in his walk year. “But I understand it’s a business and it’s different going into (unrestricted free agency). They have to do what they think is best for the organization. It’s out of my control.” Johnson notes that while White is definitely on some teams’ radars, there is currently little to no engagement from potential suitors.
  • The Bulls have taken some criticisms in the media for not making a trade with the Pelicans on draft night. New Orleans president of basketball operations Joe Dumars surprisingly traded the No. 23 overall pick and an unprotected 2026 first-round pick to the Hawks to move up to No. 13 to draft Maryland big man Derik Queen. However, a high-ranking Bulls official told Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times that the Pelicans never contacted the Bulls about the No. 12 pick, contradicting Dumars’ subsequent statements. In fact, if New Orleans had presented such a trade, Chicago would have done the deal, Cowley says.
  • Smith, Isaac Okoro and Tre Jones were under minutes restrictions on Friday after returning from injuries, according to Poe. Okoro had 15 points in 26 minutes while Jones added six points and five assists in 25 minutes.

Bulls Notes: Jones, Okoro, Smith, Dosunmu, Huerter, More

The banged-up Bulls should get some reinforcements when they take on the Hornets in Charlotte on Friday. Veteran point guard Tre Jones (left ankle sprain) practiced for a second consecutive day on Thursday and said he expects to suit up tomorrow after missing the team’s past three games, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network (Twitter link).

Isaac Okoro (left lumbar radiculopathy) and Jalen Smith (left hamstring strain) also practiced for a second straight day, per Johnson (Twitter link), and have been listed as probable to play on Friday after being sidelined for eight and five games, respectively. Head coach Billy Donovan told reporters that both players will be on minutes restrictions if they’re active.

Chicago is still far from being at full strength. Guard Ayo Dosunmu has been diagnosed with a Grade 1 thumb sprain (Twitter link via Johnson) and won’t make the trip to Charlotte, while sharpshooter Kevin Huerter (left adductor strain) still isn’t practicing and will be out for a fourth straight game on Friday.

Here’s more on the Bulls:

  • Donovan still believes the 9-14 Bulls are capable of turning things around without making roster changes, as long as they can get (and stay) healthier, writes Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune (subscription required). “We’ve had an enormous amount of injuries,” Donovan said. “Having seven guys (available) is challenging for any team. I always believe that if you’ve got nine or 10 guys that are committed to doing the things necessary, there’s enough in that locker room. I really believe that.”
  • Donovan expressed after a blowout loss to Golden State on Sunday that the Bulls players like each other, but haven’t shown that they “love” one another enough to consistently do little things like boxing out and diving for loose balls (Twitter link via Johnson). Asked about his head coach’s comments, Josh Giddey insisted that the Bulls “love each other,” but admitted the team isn’t showing it on the court. “I think we’ve just got to be better at playing for each other,” Giddey said (Twitter video link via Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic).
  • According to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times, the Bulls’ seven-game losing streak has taken its toll on the team and its chemistry. A source tells Cowley that guard Coby White is among the veterans who are “trying to put out fires and limit finger-pointing while still holding teammates accountable.”
  • Donovan pointed to veteran center Nikola Vucevic as another player who is doing what he can to hold the team together, telling reporters on Wednesday that Vucevic asked to meet with him after a recent loss to talk about “areas of improvement” and how he can help the group (Twitter links via Johnson). “When we’re not playing to our identity, that frustrates him,” Donovan said. “When he sees sometimes there’s not carryover from shootarounds to games, that frustrates him. And I want him to use his voice. Vooch holds himself to a high standard but also knows we need everybody.”

Bulls Notes: Losing Streak, Okoro, Essengue, Vucevic

Bulls coach Billy Donovan credits the Warriors‘ “identity” with helping them to survive a string of injuries, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times (subscription required), who adds that the identity Donovan’s team is developing should be a major concern.

The Bulls dropped their seventh straight game Sunday night, losing by 32 points to a Golden State team that was missing Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. The Warriors still managed to score 38 points in the first quarter while shooting 8-of-13 from beyond the arc and outrebounded Chicago by an 11-6 margin.

‘‘I do think for some of the guys that have been thrust into situations where their minutes have changed, responsibilities have changed, we’ve got to be able to stay true and hold true to that (identity),’’ Donovan said. ‘‘That’s the thing I try to look at where, yes, you’ve got all these injuries, but what about the things we can control about how we’re supposed to play and how we need to be able to play? Some of the things that have hurt have been the ball-handling issue and the turnovers. We’ve had a lot of responsibilities on particular guys just because that’s one thing that’s kind of gone out with the injuries is the ball-handling, but we’ve got to be able to do a better job with that.’’

After winning their first five games, the Bulls have taken a severe downturn, dropping to 11th in the East at 9-14. The early advantages they got from committing to Donovan’s fast-paced style have disappeared, and there don’t seem to be any obvious paths to a quick turnaround. However, guard Coby White insists that players are remaining united through the adversity.

‘‘Whatever we do, we’ve got to do it together,’’ he said. ‘‘That’s the most important thing. I’ve been here a long time, seen a lot of different situations, been in different scenarios, and the most important thing is we can’t start pointing fingers or anything like that. I’m not saying by any means we’ve done that, but we’re all human. So the most important thing right now is we’ve got to stick together. It’s still a very long season.’’

There’s more from Chicago:

  • There’s some optimism on the injury front, Cowley states in a separate story. Forwards Isaac Okoro (back) and Jalen Smith (left hamstring) and guard Kevin Huerter (adductor) were all able to do some on-court work prior to Sunday’s game. The Bulls are now 1-7 without Okoro, and Cowley states that they desperately miss their best perimeter defender. ‘‘He has made progress and has felt better, but he still feels like when he goes back, he still feels it there,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘Some of those symptoms have subsided, but the hardest part for me is … they’re all going to need some ramp-up. Even if they’re feeling really good, I don’t know if the medical guys are going to say, ‘OK, you’re fine,’ and throw them right back into a game.’’
  • Rookie forward Noa Essengue confirmed that it was his decision to undergo surgery on his injured left shoulder now rather than try to play through the pain and wait for the offseason, Cowley adds. ‘‘If I waited until the end of the season, I would be gone all summer,’’ he said. ‘‘And if I do it now, I can have all summer.’’
  • The Bulls aren’t getting the bench production they did earlier in the season, notes Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune (subscription required). Injuries have played a role in that drop-off, but Poe points out that Patrick Williams, Dalen Terry and Zach Collins were all available on Sunday.
  • Nikola Vucevic is unlikely to be the Bulls’ starting center beyond this season, Poe states in a mailbag column. While Collins could inherit that role, Poe believes the eventual long-term solution will come through the draft.

Central Notes: Bulls Injuries, Cavs, Mathews, Furphy

The Bulls got good news on guard Coby White on Wednesday after he experienced some tightness in his left calf earlier in the week. White missed Wednesday’s game vs. Brooklyn, but said his MRI results were clean and that he’s considered day-to-day, per K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network (Twitter link).

White hopes to return to action on Friday vs. Indiana, Johnson adds, though the 25-year-old acknowledged that Sunday vs. Golden State might be a more realistic goal, as the Bulls will likely exercise caution with their top scorer.

While the update on White was relatively positive, another Bulls guard, Kevin Huerter, has been diagnosed with a left hamstring strain after exiting Monday’s game early due to that injury. According to Johnson (Twitter link), head coach Billy Donovan said on Wednesday evening that Huerter will be reevaluated in one week, with no guarantee he’ll be ready to return at that time.

Donovan also didn’t have great news on forward Isaac Okoro, who has missed the past six games with a nerve issue the team is referring to as left lumbar radiculopathy.

“When he gets into certain extensions going backward, he gets pain down his leg that they’re trying to resolve,” Donovan said of the defensive ace. “To be quite honest, it’s going to take time. Until they can eliminate, that it’s going to be hard for him to come back and play.”

We have more from around the Central:

  • After snapping a three-game losing streak with a solid win over Indiana on Monday, the Cavaliers lost 122-110 to Portland on Wednesday and now have a 13-10 record this fall after going 64-18 last season. Star guard Donovan Mitchell isn’t impressed with what he’s seeing from the team, but he doesn’t want to overreact to the slump either, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required). “Concern is a scary word to use with you guys,” Mitchell told reporters after Wednesday’s loss. “I don’t want to use it. It’s upsetting, but there’s room for growth. I’m not going to sit here and be like, ‘Oh, the sky’s falling and we’re panicking.’ We have to play better. We just have to be better on all accounts. I don’t really have another message than that.”
  • Pacers wing Garrison Mathews admits he was “a little surprised” to receive a second 10-day contract after making 2-of-13 three-pointers and going scoreless in four of five outings during his first 10 days with the team, per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. Indiana’s trust in Mathews has been rewarded in the past two games, as he scored 24 points and shot 6-of-7 from the floor in 45 minutes against Cleveland and Denver. “This is what we felt was coming,” head coach Rick Carlisle said. “That the work he did the previous 10, 12 days or whatever it was to get conditioning, to get rhythm, for all that to bear fruit. We thought bringing him back was the right thing.”
  • Pacers guard Johnny Furphy made his return on Wednesday after missing a month due to a left ankle sprain. Furphy didn’t make much of an impact in his first game back vs. Denver, going scoreless with a pair of rebounds and a turnover in 16 minutes. Still, Carlisle said during his pregame media session that it was good to have the second-year guard back, noting that he brings “a different element,” and that the banged-up Pacers “need all the depth we can get” (Twitter link via Dopirak).

Central Notes: Garland, Ball, White, Furphy, Siakam

The Cavaliers will be without a handful of players for Monday’s matchup against the Pacers. Darius Garland (toe injury management) and Lonzo Ball (illness) have been added to the list of players who won’t be available. Larry Nance Jr., Max Strus, Jarrett Allen and Sam Merrill had already been listed as out of action due to various ailments.

Here’s more from the Central Division:

  • Coby White, who has already missed a chunk of the Bulls season due to a right calf strain, is listed as doubtful with left calf tightness and congestion for tonight’s game against the Magic, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network tweets. White has played five games, averaging 24.2 points and 6.2 assists per contest. Noa Essengue, Jalen Smith and Isaac Okoro are listed as out, with Zach Collins – who has yet to make his season debut – considered doubtful.
  • Pacers forward Johnny Furphy, who suffered a left ankle sprain in early November, was assigned to the G League’s Noblesville Boom over the weekend and then recalled, the team’s PR department tweets. The 2024 second round selection has appeared in three games this season after coming off the bench in 50 regular season games during his rookie campaign. He appears to be nearing a return after practicing with the Boom.
  • With Tyrese Haliburton out for the season, Pascal Siakam is now the No. 1 option for the Pacers. He’s put together back-to-back 24-point outings as the team doubled its win total with victories over the Wizards and Bulls this weekend. Indiana got off to a woeful 2-16 start after making the NBA Finals last season. “You can’t take it for granted,” Siakam told Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star. “Every single night you go out there, and when you’re used to winning you take it for granted. I think every day we go out there, every single possession that we win, every single run that we have, every single win, we gotta take it and enjoy it and know — which is the most important — know what it took for us to get to that. We’re tired of losing. We can’t keep losing. That has to be our mindset. We have to give everything for that.”

Bulls Notes: Okoro, White, Smith, Essengue

The Bulls are stumbling over a soft part of their schedule, losing Friday at Charlotte after falling to New Orleans and needing a late rally to top Washington by a single point, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times (subscription required). After a fast start that included wins over Detroit, New York and Cleveland, Chicago has fallen back to .500 at 9-9 and may be headed for another mediocre season.

Teams have been taking advantage of the Bulls’ defensive weaknesses and lack of physicality, which Cowley points out have become more prominent with Isaac Okoro missing the past three games due to a back issue. Okoro is the team’s most versatile defender, and his absence limits coach Billy Donovan’s options on that end of the court.

“With Isaac being out, and there’s times with Isaac that we can put him on different players, and he’s an outstanding defender, and he’s guarded some of the best players in this league throughout his career,” Donovan said. “But with him being out, we don’t have the luxury to just rely on one guy stopping one guy.”

There’s more on the Bulls:

  • Coby White is sitting out Saturday’s contest against Indiana, but Donovan said in his pregame meeting with reporters that this will be the last back-to-back of the season that he’ll definitely be held out of, relays KC Johnson of Chicago Sports Network (Twitter link). White’s availability for future back-to-backs will be determined on a situational basis. He has appeared in five games since returning from a strained right calf.
  • Jalen Smith (hamstring strain) and Noa Essengue (shoulder contusion) were both added to the injury report for tonight’s game, per Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic (Twitter link). Donovan said Essengue hurt his shoulder in a G League contest.
  • Injuries have forced the Bulls to rely more on their bench players, notes Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune (subscription required), who adds that the roster isn’t built to withstand the loss of multiple rotation members. Donovan bemoaned the lack of “sustainability” earlier this week, but Poe suggests it’s a matter of not having the players available that he was counting on. Ayo Dosunmu believes the recent slump is a result of repeating the same basic errors. “Coach has been telling us a thousand times to box out,” he said after the loss to the Pelicans. “But on film, we’re going to the glass, not boxing out, just standing around. Coach is telling us to get into the ball. Coach is telling us what we have to do physically. We keep saying the stove is hot, and we keep touching the stove.”

Injury Notes: Giannis, AD, Bulls, Sixers

Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo has been listed as questionable for Friday’s game in New York, tweets Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Antetokounmpo is dealing with a strained left adductor, which is part of the groin.

The two-time MVP has missed the past four games — and most of a fifth — after suffering the injury on November 17 at Cleveland. Milwaukee lost all five games without its best player and has dropped six straight overall.

Antetokounmpo, who turns 31 years old on Dec. 6, was also considered questionable for Wednesday’s game in Miami before being ruled out. Head coach Doc Rivers said the nine-time All-NBA forward hasn’t experienced a setback, according to Nehm (Twitter link).

No,” Rivers said. “I was not in favor (of him playing Wednesday). I was very happy we decided what we decided. I was very uncomfortable with it. He really wanted to push and that’s who Giannis is. I was very happy with our medical team today. They decided at the end of the day, let’s wait. … We just thought it was the right thing to do. We gotta protect him sometimes.”

We have more injury updates from around the NBA:

  • As expected, Mavericks forward/center Anthony Davis is questionable for Friday’s matchup at the Lakers, as Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal relays (via Twitter). The star big man has missed the past 14 games with a left calf strain. Davis, who practiced on Wednesday, said it was “surprising” and “definitely tough” to see former head of basketball operations Nico Harrison get fired, but downplayed the trade chatter surrounding him in the wake of Harrison’s dismissal. “This is basketball,” Davis said, per Christian Clark of The Athletic. “This is what comes with it. I think everybody in their career has been involved in trade talks. Been traded. Or some type of move. That doesn’t affect me. I’ve been in trade talks for a while. My job is to do what I do on the floor. Play basketball. Try to lead this team. I do have an open line of communication with the front office. I’m just ready to get back on the floor.”
  • The Bulls have a lengthy injury report ahead of Friday’s contest in Charlotte, notes Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic (Twitter link). Kevin Huerter (left pelvic contusion), Dalen Terry (left calf strain), Nikola Vucevic (right patellofemoral syndrome), Coby White (right calf strain injury management), and Patrick Williams (left wrist sprain) are all questionable, while Isaac Okoro is doubtful to suit up because of left lumbar radiculopathy.
  • In addition to Kelly Oubre Jr. and Trendon Watford, who are sidelined with knee and adductor injuries, respectively, Sixers center Joel Embiid has been ruled out of his ninth consecutive game on Friday against Brooklyn due to right knee injury management (Twitter link via Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer). Rookie guard VJ Edgecombe (left calf tightness) is also out for the third straight game, while forward Paul George is questionable with a right ankle sprain. George was inactive for Tuesday’s 41-point loss to Orlando, though he did practice on Wednesday.

Bulls Notes: Expiring Contracts, Defense, Queen, Essengue, Collins

This season will go a long way toward shaping the future of the Bulls, who could have as many as eight free agents next summer, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times (subscription required). Nikola Vucevic, Zach Collins, Coby White, Kevin Huerter, Ayo Dosunmu, Jevon Carter and Dalen Terry all have expiring contracts, while Chicago holds a $2.4MM team option on Julian Phillips for next season.

According to Cowley, coach Billy Donovan has been emphasizing to his players since training camp that they have a common goal in helping one another have the brightest possible NBA future.

‘‘We’ve got eight guys on expiring contracts,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘They’re all tied together. Their futures and careers are in each other’s hands. You get a player that’s young, that’s in their first or second year, they’re looking down the road and thinking, ‘Fifteen years is forever.’ Vooch is sitting there saying, ‘Hey, this went by like that.’ So I do think that there’s an urgency by Vooch, a mindset, a mentality.’’

Cowley suggests that urgency helps to explain Vucevic’s weekend comments after a one-point win over Washington when he said the team was “very soft” for most of the game. Cowley notes that Vucevic and his family like living in Chicago, and the front office could have interest in re-signing the 35-year-old center if the season goes well. He adds that executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas has displayed loyalty to Donovan and much of the roster, and several players could receive multiyear contracts if the Bulls are able to exceed expectations.

‘‘They have to understand the urgency because they all have something to do with each other’s success and they all have something to do with each other’s future,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘I think the moment you get out of yourself and start thinking, ‘What can I do to help the man next to me? What can I do to help the man on the court?’ that’s when you find out the guys that are really committed.’’

There’s more from Chicago:

  • The Bulls’ defensive issues have become more apparent during their recent downturn, Cowley states in a separate story. A lack of size and physicality was glaring in games against Washington and New Orleans, and Donovan believes it can only be overcome with a team-wide approach. “For our team, maybe outside Isaac Okoro, we don’t have one guy right now where you can say, ‘This guy is a defensive stopper, this is what this guy hangs his hat on.’ We don’t have that,” he said. “So we have to do it collectively. It’s not one guy’s fault; it’s all of us. It’s the coaches, the players, we all have to do it. We just don’t have the type of guys that you’re going to put on a guy, and he’s going to shut them down.”
  • The Bulls had serious interest in Pelicans rookie big man Derik Queen with the 12th pick in this year’s draft, Cowley relays in another story. They opted for French forward Noa Essengue, who has spent most of the season in the G League, because they viewed him as a better fit for their up-tempo style. “When the draft actually came, there’s things that happen in that moment,” Donovan explained. “You’ve got five minutes to make that pick. I think (the front office) was looking at Noa as an opportunity long-term — ‘This guy fits the way we would like to play.’ I did not get from the front office or even the scouts that (Queen wasn’t) a fit. (But) I think they thought the way we were playing, Noa, maybe from an upside standpoint, another athletic wing, a long defender, (was) maybe something we needed defensively.”
  • Collins is expected to begin participating in full-court practices later this week as he moves closer to making his season debut, Cowley adds. The team is hoping to have Collins, who has been sidelined with an injured left hand, back on the court by early December.

Central Notes: Giannis, Walker, Bulls, Mobley

Tuesday marks one week since word broke that Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo had been diagnosed with a low-grade groin strain that was expected to sideline him for a week or two. Milwaukee has struggled mightily without its leading scorer and rebounder, dropping four consecutive games since Antetokounmpo went down, including a home loss on Monday to a banged-up Portland team.

While no target date has been reported for Giannis’ return yet, he was on the court getting some shots up prior to Monday’s game, and he’ll travel with the team on its two-game road trip to Miami (Wednesday) and New York (Friday), according to Eric Nehm of The Athletic (Twitter links).

Head coach Doc Rivers made it clear he’s not necessarily counting on Antetokounmpo to play in either of those road games against conference rivals this week, but he did say he thinks that both Giannis and Kevin Porter Jr. are getting close, Nehm adds (Twitter link). Last week’s update on Porter, who is recovering from meniscus surgery, suggested that the Bucks guard is trending toward an early December return.

[UPDATE: Antetokounmpo has been listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game.]

We have a few more notes from around the Central Division:

  • Former Pacers lottery pick Jarace Walker got off to a very slow start this season, making just 30.7% of his field goal attempts through 16 games and he took an increased role on the rotation. But Walker scored a career-high 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting vs. Detroit on Monday, prompting Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star (subscription required) to wonder if it could be a breakthrough game for the third-year forward. Dopirak also takes a look at the role veteran forward Pascal Siakam has played in mentoring his younger teammate. “I told him after the game, I think I can count the number of dribbles he had,” Siakam said on Monday. “He just kept the game simple. Make the right play. If you’re open, let it fly. If you don’t have it, keep moving it. If you make the decision to drive, drive strong. Finish. If you don’t have it, pass it.”
  • After watching his team give up a combined 263 points to Washington and New Orleans in the past two games, Bulls head coach Billy Donovan said that everyone needs to step up and contribute more to the defensive effort, per Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic (Twitter video link). “Our team, outside of maybe Isaac Okoro, we don’t have one guy on the team right now that you would sit there and say, ‘This guy’s a defensive stopper. This is what this guy hangs his hat on,'” Donovan said. “We don’t have that. So we have to do it collectively. It’s not one guy’s fault, it’s all of us. It’s the coaches, the players. … It’s a team issue, it’s not an individual issue.”
  • Evan Mobley is the NBA’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, but he hasn’t yet turned into the sort of dominant offensive player the Cavaliers have long hoped he can become, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required). In the wake of a disappointing Monday performance in which Mobley attempted just seven shots, Fedor considers whether two-way superstardom is still in the cards for the former No. 3 overall pick and whether it’s realistic for the Cavs to expect more from him.

Injury Notes: Shannon, Shamet, Barrett, Bulls

Terrence Shannon Jr. has been cleared for full-contact, five-on-five practice, the Timberwolves announced in a press release. He is being listed as questionable for Monday’s game against the Kings.

Shannon has missed the last nine games for the Wolves with a left foot fifth metatarsal bone bruise. After playing 339 regular season minutes in his rookie season, he saw his playing time increase following the departure of Nickeil Alexander-Walker, but has struggled to increase his production in the early going, averaging 3.9 points and 2.4 rebounds in 16.4 minutes per game through the team’s first seven contests.

In Shannon’s absence, Minnesota has turned to Jaylen Clark, Bones Hyland, and Leonard Miller, among others. The Wolves are 10-6 on the season and have gone 8-3 in their last 11 games.

We have more injury notes from around the league:

  • Landry Shamet exited the Knicks‘ loss to the Magic in the first quarter and is now listed as out for Monday’s game against the Nets with a sprained right shoulder, tweets Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. Bondy notes that head coach Mike Brown stated Landry would have a full evaluation in “the coming days,” and that this designation is only tied to the next game’s status. Shamet has been a productive role player for the Knicks this season, starting six games and averaging 9.3 PPG on 42.4% shooting from deep.
  • RJ Barrett exited the Raptors‘ win against the Nets on Sunday early with a right knee sprain after landing awkwardly on a dunk, reports Danielle Michaud, as relayed by Blake Murphy of Sportsnet (Twitter link). According to Michael Grange of Sportsnet (via Twitter), Barrett will get imaging done on his knee on Monday.
  • Isaac Okoro and Dalen Terry are listed as out for the Bulls‘ game against the Pelicans on Monday, writes K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network (Twitter link). Kevin Huerter and Patrick Williams are listed as questionable with an illness and wrist injury, respectively.