Josh Giddey takes step toward Bulls return

Josh Giddey took a step toward returning to the Bulls lineup. He still has a couple more to go.

On Sunday, Giddey practiced with the NBA G-League’s Windy City Bulls. The session was the first five-on-five work for Giddey since he suffered the left hamstring strain that has now kept him out of 10 consecutive games.

Bulls coach Billy Donovan said everything went well for Giddey, who did some extra work after the practice.

“We’ll see how he responds, but I didn’t get anything that there were any setbacks or any problems,” Donovan said. “That was a good sign.”

The Bulls still hope Giddey can come back this week. And there are opportunities for that happen – the Bulls host the Clippers on Tuesday, travel to Minnesota to play the Timberwolves on Thursday and then welcome the Celtics on Saturday.

But for that to happen, the Bulls need to see more from Giddey to declare him ready to return. An important piece is being confident there won’t be any injury recurrence, like what Coby White went through with his calf problem.

“This was Giddey’s first time (playing five-on-five), so I think [the medical team] probably would want to see him have a couple more times like that, or at least one more time like that whether it’s [Monday] or the following days just to see where he’s at,” Donovan said. “They just want to make sure they’re putting him in all these situations where, if there is any tightness that he’s feeling or experiencing, they’d probably have to pull back.

“He didn’t experience that [Sunday], but that’s really what they want.”

Prior to the injury, Giddey was making a case for his first All-Star appearance, averaging 19.2 points, 8.9 rebounds and nine assists per game. Entering Sunday, Giddey was tied for second in triple-doubles with seven, and even for sixth in double-doubles with 19.

Giddey has not played since Dec. 29.

Sitting Pat

Forward Patrick Williams missed Sunday’s game after leaving with a sprained right ankle during the third quarter Friday night.

Donovan said he’d have a better idea Monday of how long Williams would be out. Williams received treatment Sunday in hopes he could play, but didn’t recover enough to be active.

“I don’t think it’s going to be something that is going to be long-term, but he’s still pretty sore,” said Donovan, who got the impression from Williams that the Bulls forward didn’t think the injury was too serious.

The ankle injury is the latest frustration for Williams. The sixth-year forward is averaging a career-low 6.5 points and 18.4 minutes per game. Since Jan. 1, Williams is averaging 17 minutes and just 5.9 points over eight games.

No deflection

During training camp, Donovan and the Bulls coaching staff emphasized getting deflections. Through Saturday, the Bulls are last in the league in that category, getting just 14.5 per game.

“You try to work on it,” Donovan said. “When you’re doing pick-and-roll coverage or you’re doing screening actions, two guys are in a pick-and-roll let’s try to get their hand activity. You’re hoping that a guy can get a piece or deflect the pass.”