Complete with an official anthem courtesy of Grammy award-winning artist LL Cool J and a bright red alternate court — the first time the Bulls will play on an alternate court — the NBA’s new In-Season Tournament begins Friday for the Bulls as they take on the Nets.
Group play games take place on Tuesdays and Fridays in November. The Bulls will play one game each against Orlando, Toronto, Boston and Brooklyn. The NBA created the new tournament to add some competitiveness back into the league’s NBA season.
“It’s another opportunity for the NBA to create more fans, different types of buzz, and it’s the first of its kind, so we’ll go out there and figure out what it’s like for the first year is going to be fun,” Bulls guard Zach LaVine said.
The monetary prize for the tournament winner is $500,000 to players on the championship-winning team, $200,000 to players on the losing team, $100,000 to players on teams who lose in the semifinals and $50,000 to players on teams who lose in the quarterfinals.
“No one ever turns down money,” LaVine said. “That was good. It gives guys who are very competitive added fuel.”
LaVine said he’s excited to see the atmosphere. He doesn’t expect it to resemble a playoff game, but since it’s new, it can be exciting.
Coach Billy Donovan said these games matter as they also count for the regular season. The in-season tournament championship will take place at T-Mobile Arenas in Las Vegas.
“It’s an exciting opportunity,” Donovan said. “I know least invested a lot. We certainly put a lot of importance on it and feel it’s important, and it’s a great opportunity in one of these games, that you know, to advance and accumulate points to get to Vegas.”
Injury update
Guard Ayo Dosunmu will miss Friday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets and Saturday’s game in Denver with what the team is saying is an upper respiratory illness. Billy Donovan said Dosunmu, who also missed shootaround, is dealing with an illness.
LaVine is dealing with low back spasms but will play tonight.
“I think he’s still dealing and managing his back,” Donovan said. “Obviously, we’ve got to put it on when stuff comes up and flares up and he’s been dealing with it for a little bit. Until it’s just totally resolved — he’ll probably be taken off, but until that point — we’ll keep him there just because sometimes he has some days that are better than others, so to speak.”
Lineup changes
Forward Patrick Williams has struggled immensely to begin his fourth season. The young forward is averaging four points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists and has yet to finish multiple games in the second half.
In a surprising move, Donovan elected to start forward Torrey Craig over Williams for the first time this season.
“We want to see Patrick do well,” Donovan said. “Everybody believes in Patrick. He has certainly shown, in the time that he’s been here, a lot of positive signs of growth.
“The first five games, he has not maybe gotten off to the start that we all hoped he would have, but the one thing I respect about Patrick, in my conversations with him, has always been, ‘I have to figure this out.’”
Despite Williams’ struggles, Donovan said Williams is an important part of the team whether he comes off the bench or starts.
“We’re always evaluating all those things inside our team,” Donovan said. “Patrick is going to play an important role and maybe in some of the games we’ve played, there’s been times where he hasn’t played that much in the second half.”