Chicago Bulls Lose Key Piece For Season

It’s a tough break for Dosunmu and Chicago, as he has been an integral part of their team since his rookie year. The news is a bit surprising since he had returned to play in Chicago’s game on Friday against the Toronto Raptors after missing three with left shoulder instability. The 25-year-old was wearing a shoulder sleeve in the Toronto game though.

Dosunmu’s season will end after 46 games which included 26 starts. He averaged career-highs across the board in points (12.3), rebounds (3.5), assists (4.5), and minutes (30.8). The fourth-year guard shot 49.2% from the field, 32.8% from three-point territory, and 78.5% from the free-throw line.

This season was similar to his first three because he started 128 games while coming off the bench for 105 in those years. With Alex Caruso traded in the offseason, Dosunmu often took on the role of defending the opposition’s best perimeter threat.

Chicago Still Likely Will Hold On To 10th Seed

The Bulls definitely saw their roster become weakened after they traded Zach LaVine to the Sacramento Kings prior to the trade deadline. It has now become more depleted with the absence of Dosunmu.

As mentioned, the Bulls are currently the 10th seed in the Eastern Conference. That puts them in the last position to earn a spot in the Play-In Tournament. There isn’t much competition from the teams behind them.

Chicago owns a 2.5-game lead over the 11th seed in the Eastern Conference, the Philadelphia 76ers. The 76ers had lost nine in a row prior to finally ending the skid with a victory over the Golden State Warriors on Saturday. Of course, Philadelphia will be without Joel Embiid as he was recently announced to be out for the rest of the season.

The only other team that seems to be within striking distance of the Bulls is the Brooklyn Nets. Their 21-39 record puts them a half-game behind the 76ers, thus three games behind Chicago. Brooklyn has overachieved, at least compared to preseason expectations. They have now lost four in a row though, and a run to the 10th seed doesn’t seem likely.

So even with the unfortunate news about Dosunmu’s season-ending injury, the Bulls still look like the clear-cut favorites to finish as the 10th seed, even if they don’t necessarily want it.