The Chicago Bulls need to change their strategy as Patrick Williams is not playing for at least 14 days due to a foot injury. Alex Caruso will be expected to continue performing well in his place as he maintains his best-ever 3-point shooting year.
Caitlin Clark is on her way to Evanston as No. 3 Iowa goes up against Northwestern on Wednesday night.
And Chicago Sky players Ruthy Hebard and Isabelle Harrison are prominent in the rosters for this spring’s Athletes Unlimited season.
Each Wednesday throughout the season, Tribune writers will give an update on what happened — and what’s coming up — for the Bulls, Sky and local basketball.
Patrick Williams unable to play for two weeks due to a foot injury
The Bulls must change their player rotation after Patrick Williams has been unable to play for at least two weeks with an acute bone marrow edema in his left foot.
A bone marrow edema is a condition where fluid builds up within the bone marrow, usually as a result of injury or swelling. The standard treatment is rest, but this injury can require surgery in some cases.
Williams underwent initial tests and was put in a walking boot in Los Angeles last week during the team’s three-game road trip. He did not play in Sunday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Coach Billy Donovan said Williams is unlikely to play before the All-Star break begins Feb. 16, but his return timeline is uncertain.
“We can probably anticipate he’s not going to be available prior to the All-Star break,” Donovan said. “Then there’s another week after the break and he’ll get a lot of treatment and those kinds of things. But there’s no timetable in terms of after the All-Star break and what game (he would return). There will have to be a ramp-up period to get him back playing to see how he responds after he gets some time off.”
Williams is averaging 10 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 27.3 minutes per game this season. He began the season as a starter, moved into the secondary lineup for several weeks, then returned to the starting group following injuries to Zach LaVine and Torrey Craig.
Without Craig or Williams, the Bulls don’t have a primary option for power forward. Donovan said the Bulls will rely on Alex Caruso and rookie Julian Phillips to fill in this role. Dalen Terry was originally part of the plan but was injured in Tuesday’s loss to the Toronto Raptors. The Bulls will continue to experiment with playing centers Andre Drummond and Nikola Vučević at the same time depending upon matchups.
Donovan acknowledged this isn’t a favorable situation for Caruso, who typically maintains his health by playing fewer than 30 minutes per game. But the Bulls don’t have other options for at least the next two weeks as they await the returns of Craig and Williams.
“We’re going to have to do it by committee,” Donovan said.
Caitlin Clark visits Evanston
All attention is on Evanston on Wednesday night as college standout Caitlin Clark and the No. 3 Iowa women’s basketball team go head-to-head with Northwestern.
It’s been two years since Clark last played at Northwestern on Jan. 28, 2022. The game was quieter because Clark wasn't as famous then. She scored 28 points in that win for the Hawkeyes in front of 1,500 fans.
This time, Clark will bring a new level of excitement to Evanston. Welsh-Ryan Arena has been sold out for weeks — and only a few tickets priced at $158 or higher are left on resale sites.
“I’ve received so many requests for tickets,” joked Northwestern men’s basketball coach Chris Collins during a news conference on Tuesday.
Clark could make history on Wednesday. She is currently ranked fourth overall in NCAA women’s career scoring with 3,389 points. She is on track to surpass both Kelsey Plum’s women’s record of 3,527 career points and Pete Maravich’s men’s record of 3,667 points.
Although Clark won’t break either record Wednesday, she should move past Jackie Stiles (3,393 career points) and Kelsey Mitchell (3,402 career points) to become second behind Plum in women’s career scoring. Clark averages 32 points, 7.6 assists and 7.1 rebounds per game.
Ruthy Hebard and Isabelle Harrison will join Athletes Unlimited along with 16 other WNBA players this spring.
Two players from last season’s Chicago Sky roster — Ruthy Hebard and Isabelle Harrison — will join 16 other WNBA players in the Athletes Unlimited season this spring.
Athletes Unlimited is a professional league with 40 athletes playing during a four-week season from Feb. 29 to March 23. Teams are chosen each week by captains based on high scoring. The player with the most points at the end of the season will get around $50,000 while the rest of the players will share a $1 million prize pool.
This year’s season will be in Dallas. The WNBA has teamed up with Athletes Unlimited to stream all games on the WNBA League Pass app.
“We are excited to continue working with the WNBA and to bring Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball to the devoted fans of the sport through the WNBA App,” said Athletes Unlimited senior vice president Cheri Kempf. “We are pleased that these games will be even more widely accessible this season, as fans will watch top athletes compete to be the individual champion of their sport.”
Number of the week: 9
Alex Caruso is having his best shooting season in the NBA. In Sunday’s win in Portland, Caruso made two or more 3-pointers for the ninth game in a row. Before that, he had a streak of seven games from Nov. 6-22 with two or more 3-pointers.
Caruso is 23rd in the league and tied for ninth in the Eastern Conference in effective 3-point shooting percentage. He is shooting 41.5% from behind the arc on 4.4 attempts per game.
Week ahead: Bulls
- Wednesday: at Charlotte Hornets, 6 p.m., NBC Sports Chicago
- Thursday: Off
- Friday: Off
- Saturday: Sacramento Kings, 7 p.m., NBC Sports Chicago
- Sunday: Off
- Monday: Off
- Tuesday: Minnesota Timberwolves, 7 p.m., NBC Sports Chicago
What we’re reading this morning
- Bulls soak in wisdom from Hall of Famer Phil Jackson during trip: ‘I’ve always had great respect and admiration for him’
- 4 things to learn from the Bulls’ 104-96 victory, including Patrick Williams wearing a walking boot — but Julian Phillips stepping up
- Bulls’ Alex Caruso moves to another level with selection to Team USA player pool for Paris Olympics
- Opinion piece: Can Illinois block out the criticism surrounding Terrence Shannon Jr. and return to the Final Four?
- Lonzo Ball is back on the bench with the Bulls — but his return to running is delayed by illness
- Could Kyle Lowry — once DeMar DeRozan’s teammate in Toronto — reunite with his long-time friend with the Bulls?
- Candace Parker comes back to Naperville Central with family and friends to celebrate state championship teams
- Opinion piece: Gloomy winter days seem perfect for Chicago sports scene — but Caitlin Clark’s visit should offer a break
- Zach LaVine to the Pistons? Alex Caruso to the Bucks? Andre Drummond to the Lakers? The most recent Bulls trade rumors.
- Should Coby White be the main guy for the Bulls in pressure situations?
Quotable
“I’m thinking like — ‘Wait, is this the right side if it’s this easy?’ I laid it in and then I ain’t hear nobody yelling at me and I’m like all right, bet, cool.” — Ayo Dosunmu on scoring a dunk off tipoff against the Portland Trail Blazers
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