Bulls' backcourt injury concerns get clarity, concern from Billy Donovan

There’s suddenly a lot of wait-and-see for the Bulls, who are running short on time.

Giving injury updates Tuesday, coach Billy Donovan highlighted uncertainty around newly acquired guards Anfernee Simons and Jaden Ivey. Simons injured his left hand Saturday against the Pistons, then met Monday with a specialist for imaging, which indicated a fracture that shouldn’t require surgery unless it worsens or persists.

Donovan said it actually was a pre-existing fracture that Simons has been dealing with since training camp with the Celtics. The hope is he can return sooner rather than later.

“He did have some difficulty in Boston . . . and missed a little bit of time, maybe 10 days with it,” Donovan said. “The fracture hasn’t quite healed, and I think with him seeing a hand specialist, they decided that once the pain subsides, he’s fine to go back to play. I don’t know how long that’s going to be. If I go off the last time it happened to him in Boston, it was a week to 10 days. That’s where it’s at. I don’t know what will happen [in terms of surgery]at the end of the year.”

It’s a bit tricker with Ivey (sore left knee). The former Piston suffered a broken fibula last January, missed the rest of the season and returned without the same explosive energy he had coming out of Purdue. That was obvious in his first four games after the Bulls got him in a trade earlier this month.

“We started him on a program, right now just to ramp him up physically,” Donovan said. “A lot of it has been to get the strength back in around his knee. That process started a couple days ago, so he’s in the midst of doing that.

“Talking to the medical guys, it’s going to be pretty intense for him . . . so he’s going to have to really work hard on that part of it. I think he feels better not playing — the pain has subsided. But the biggest concern the medical guys have is his strength, that his quad is firing, he can cut and move, be the athlete that he’s been.”

The Bulls (24-35) have 24 games left in the regular season and are currently two spots outside a playoff berth.

Ah, memories

Former Bulls guard Coby White had a lot to say in his return to the United Center with the Hornets after being traded just before the deadline. A lot of it centered around how important Donovan was for his development.

“I give him a lot of credit for how far I came,” White said. “When you’re a young player, he is very hard on you. It’s a lot of tough love, but it’s because he sees something in you, and he’s from New York — he’s battle-tested. So that’s his way to kind of see how tough you are. Can you respond? He was like that with Ayo [Dosunmu] as well. He was like that with Pat [Williams]. He was like that with a lot of young guys that came through here.

“We built a great relationship as player-coach, but he’s been a guy that’s important to me off the court as well. That’s a relationship that will last forever.”

Broken ‘Stix’

The lack of size in the Bulls’ frontcourt got worse Tuesday as center/forward Jalen Smith, nicknamed “Stix,” was held out again with a strained right calf. Donovan didn’t have an estimate on when he’d be able to return.