Josh Giddei is back, but Billy Donovan missed the game after his dad’s death
The The Chicago Bulls had a busy trade deadlinesending, among other things, Nikola Vucevic to the Boston Celtics and Kevin Huerter to the Detroit Pistons. The Bulls are currently on pace to make the tournament for the fourth consecutive season.
Josh Giddei was in and out of the lineup in recent weeks as he continues to work his way back from a hamstring injury, and on Wednesday the team won positive update about his status for their game against the Toronto Raptors on Thursday, their first game back since the All-Star break.
“Josh Giddei said he’s fully practiced and expects to play Thursday,” reported KC Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network on X, formerly Twitter.
Johnson also gave an update on the head coach Billy Donovanwho is mourning the recent death of his father.
“Wes Unseld Jr., who is coaching in Billy Donovan’s absence after the death of Donovan’s father, said Jaylen Smith is back as well. Unseld Jr. will practice Thursday against the Raptors,” said Johnson, who added that Donovan will be back with the team on Friday.
“We wish his family the best and offer our condolences,” Unseld Jr. said.
The Bulls have been on a roller coaster ride all this season, racing out of the gate to a 5-0 start before crashing back down to Earth, and have been hovering around .500 ever since.
Giddy is one of the core building blocks for the Bulls, turning into a nightly triple-double threat with his unique skill set, and has also improved his three-point shooting this year, an area that was widely viewed as a weakness for the former lottery pick.
The Bulls will hope that new trade acquisitions like Anfernee Simmons continue to establish themselves as reliable contributors in the Windy City moving forward.
Chicago will play the Raptors on Thursday at 8:00 PM ET.
2026-02-18 21:02:00
