The Western Conference got the NBA play-in tournament started on Tuesday night and the Eastern Conference gets their turn on Wednesday. The Chicago Bulls will be hosting the Atlanta Hawks in the 9v10 game, and of course the Bulls were dealt another injury leading up to the game. Chicago has been dealing with all kinds of injuries this season, and the latest is to Onuralp Bitim. Bitim will miss the entire postseason because of a detached retina that requires surgery, the team announced on Tuesday night.
Onuralp Bitim recently suffered this eye injury and he and the Bulls decided that surgery was going to the best option going forward. Unfortunately for Bitim, he will have to miss the play-in game against the Hawks on Wednesday night and also any other postseason games that Chicago plays in.
“Chicago Bulls forward Onuralp Bitim has been diagnosed with a detached retina in his right eye,” The Bulls said in a press release. “He will require season-ending surgery and will be out for the remainder of the postseason.”
Bitim isn’t a major contributor on this Bulls team but he still has put up some good minutes for Chicago this season. He is averaging 11.7 minutes per game, 3.5 PPG, 1.4 RPG and .6 APG. The biggest hurt for the Bulls from this injury news is that they lose some depth, which they desperately need right now because of all the other injuries that they are dealing with.
Other Bulls injuries for play-in tournament vs. Hawks
Onuralp Bitim is not the only Bulls player that has suffered a season-ending injury this year. Zach LaVine and Patrick Williams have both suffered injuries that have kept them permanently on the sidelines as well.
The Bulls will also be without Julian Phillips in this game as he still working to return from injury. He is not done for the year, so if Chicago finds a way to win on Wednesday night then he could return for future games.
Ayo Dosunmu and Andre Drummond are both currently listed as game-time decisions for the Bulls. Getting those two for this game would be huge for Chicago, but we likely won’t know if they’re going to play until right before tip. Dosunmu has had a breakout season this year and has moved into the starting lineup, and Andre Drummond has been great this season pairing up with fellow big Nikola Vucevic.
The Bulls and Hawks will get their play-in game going at 9:30 ET (8:30 local time) from the United Center in Chicago. The game will be airing on ESPN, and the Bulls are currently favored by 3.5 points.
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