It’s time for the Chicago Bulls to dig deeper into their roster as a winter wave of injuries sweeps through the team.
The injury report for their Friday game against the New York Knicks captured the current conflagration of absences: Alex Caruso (acromioclavicular joint injury, concussion protocol), Derrick Jones Jr. (left ankle sprain) andJavonte Green (right knee soreness) didn’t play. Goran Dragić, who is battling left ankle soreness, was available.
For a roster already hampered by the , this laundry list is a familiar concern. But injury absences also can be a growth period for the Bulls, who tapped the potential of guard Ayo Dosunmu last season after losing Caruso and Ball.
With multiple guards and defensive specialists sidelined, the Bulls now face another rotational question — is it time to offer rookie ?
Terry has barely cracked the rotation this season, playing in 12 games for an average of 3.5 minutes. His time with the Windy City Bulls has been productive — he is averaging 12.8 points, 6.9 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.3 steals in 10 games. But solid performances in the G League haven’t moved the needle to get the rookie on the court with the Bulls in any meaningful way.
Coach Billy Donovan previously said Terry is mostly held back by his inexperience. The rookie is still catching up — both physically and mentally — to the NBA speed of play. If Terry were more of a bucket-getter, he could disguise some of the early growing pains with flashy shots and scoring. But as an assist-first guard and defensive specialist, Terry’s errors are on full display whenever he’s thrown into the lineup.
Still, the Bulls could use the rookie’s enthusiasm and acumen as injuries pile up. Terry isn’t an immediate fix, but he would address one of the main problems plaguing the team in recent weeks: defensive energy.
While his inexperience makes him more inclined to mistakes or mistiming, Terry’s effort in defensive rotations is never in question. He attacks one-on-one defensive pairings with vigor and eagerly pushes the ball in transition. Terry certainly isn’t ready to leapfrog Caruso, Jones and Green on the defensive depth chart., but with all three sidelined, his stock is rising as a lengthy defender who could realistically challenge along the perimeter off the bench.
Terry has made it clear — no matter the time, no matter the place and no matter the distance he must travel to get there.
The rookie took a lengthy journey to get to the last game against the Atlanta Hawks, waking at 4:30 a.m. to catch a flight to Georgia after playing in the G League Showcase Cup in Las Vegas the night before. Terry had 15 points and eight rebounds for the Windy City Bulls in Las Vegas, then crammed himself into the middle seat of a sold-out commercial flight the next morning to make it to tipoff in Atlanta.
And after all that, Terry earned only five minutes off the bench in the third quarter — even after Caruso’s injury.
Any glance at the Bulls bench makes it clear that a lack of playing time hasn’t dulled Terry’s enthusiasm. He bounds out of his seat at every play stoppage, crafts handshakes with teammates such as Dosunmu and requires physical restraint from teammates when celebrating important shots and steals.
That zeal is unlikely to be dampened by a lack of minutes. But as the Bulls attempt to shake out of their December slump, they could use a bit of Terry’s gusto on the court — not just on the sidelines.
()
