The Chicago Bulls must adjust their approach as Patrick Williams is sidelined for at least two weeks with a foot injury. Alex Caruso will be asked to continue stepping up in his place as he maintains a career-best 3-point shooting year.
Caitlin Clark is headed to Evanston as No. 3 Iowa faces Northwestern on Wednesday night.
And Chicago Sky players Ruthy Hebard and Isabelle Harrison headline rosters for this spring’s Athletes Unlimited season.
Every Wednesday throughout the season, Tribune writers will provide an update on what happened — and what’s ahead — for the Bulls, Sky and local basketball.
Patrick Williams sidelined for two weeks with a foot injury
The Bulls must adapt their rotation after Patrick Williams has been sidelined for at least two weeks with an acute bone marrow edema in his left foot.
A bone marrow edema is a condition where fluid builds up within the bone marrow, typically as a result of trauma or swelling. The standard treatment is rest, but this injury can require surgery in some cases.
Williams underwent preliminary tests and was placed in a walking boot in Los Angeles last week midway through the team’s three-game road trip. He sat out Sunday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Coach Billy Donovan said Williams is unlikely to play before the All-Star break begins Feb. 16, but his return timeline is uncertain.
“We can probably anticipate he’s not going to be available prior to the All-Star break,” Donovan said. “Then there’s another week after the break and he’ll get a lot of treatment and those kinds of things. But there’s no timetable in terms of after the All-Star break and what game (he would return). There will have to be a ramp-up period to get him back playing to see how he responds after he gets some time off.”
Williams is averaging 10 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 27.3 minutes per game this season. He began the season as a starter, moved into the secondary lineup for several weeks, then returned to the starting group following injuries to Zach LaVine and Torrey Craig.
Without Craig or Williams, the Bulls don’t have a primary option for power forward. Donovan said the Bulls will rely on Alex Caruso and rookie Julian Phillips to fill in this role. Dalen Terry was originally part of the plan but was injured in Tuesday’s loss to the Toronto Raptors. The Bulls will continue to experiment with playing centers Andre Drummond and Nikola Vucevic at the same time depending upon matchups.
Donovan acknowledged this isn’t a favorable situation for Caruso, who typically maintains his health by playing fewer than 30 minutes per game. But the Bulls don’t have other options for at least the next two weeks as they await the returns of Craig and Williams.
“We’re going to have to do it by committee,” Donovan said.
Caitlin Clark comes to Evanston
All eyes are on Evanston on Wednesday night as collegiate star Caitlin Clark and the No. 3 Iowa women’s basketball team face off against Northwestern.
It’s been two years since Clark last played at Northwestern on Jan. 28, 2022. That game was a much more muted affair. Clark had yet to rise to her current level of national stardom. She scored 28 points in that win for the Hawkeyes, playing in front of 1,500 fans.
This time, Clark will bring a new caliber of fanfare to Evanston. Welsh-Ryan Arena has been sold out for weeks — and only a handful of tickets listed at $158 or higher are available on resale sites.
“I can’t tell you how many ticket requests I’ve gotten,” Northwestern men’s basketball coach Chris Collins joked during a news conference Tuesday.
Clark could also notch another piece of history on Wednesday. She is currently ranked fourth overall in NCAA women’s career scoring with 3,389 points. She is on track to surpass both Kelsey Plum’s women’s record of 3,527 career points and could also beat Pete Maravich’s men’s record of 3,667 points.
Although Clark won’t break either record Wednesday, she should move past Jackie Stiles (3,393 career points) and Kelsey Mitchell (3,402 career points) to become second behind Plum in women’s career scoring. Clark averages 32 points, 7.6 assists and 7.1 rebounds per game.
Ruthy Hebard and Isabelle Harrison join Athletes Unlimited
Two players from last season’s Chicago Sky roster — Ruthy Hebard and Isabelle Harrison — will join 16 other WNBA players in the Athletes Unlimited season this spring.
Athletes Unlimited is a professional league featuring 40 athletes during a four-week season from Feb. 29 to March 23. Teams are drafted each week by the captains, who are selected based on high scoring throughout the season. The individual player with the highest point tally at the end of the season will receive a roughly $50,000 payout while the rest of the players will receive a portion of a $1 million pool.
This year’s season will be hosted in Dallas. The WNBA has partnered with Athletes Unlimited to provide streaming for all games on the WNBA League Pass app.
“We are thrilled to build on our relationship with the WNBA and once again partner to bring Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball to the most passionate fans of the sport through the WNBA App,” said Athletes Unlimited senior vice president Cheri Kempf. “We are very glad that these games will be even more widely accessible this season, as fans will be treated to world-class talent competing to be crowned the individual champion of their sport.”
Number of the week: 9
Alex Caruso is continuing the best shooting season of his NBA career. In Sunday’s win in Portland, Caruso tallied his ninth consecutive game with two or more 3-pointers made. Before that, he notched a seven-game streak of two or more 3-pointers from Nov. 6-22.
Caruso is 23rd in the league and tied for ninth in the Eastern Conference in effective 3-point shooting percentage. He is shooting 41.5% from behind the arc on 4.4 attempts per game.
Week ahead: Bulls
Wednesday: at Charlotte Hornets, 6 p.m., NBC Sports Chicago
Thursday: Off
Friday: Off
Saturday: Sacramento Kings, 7 p.m., NBC Sports Chicago
Sunday: Off
Monday: Off
Tuesday: Minnesota Timberwolves, 7 p.m., NBC Sports Chicago
What we’re reading this morning
Bulls’ Alex Caruso reaches ‘another tier’ with selection to Team USA player pool for Paris Olympics
Lonzo Ball is back on the bench with the Bulls — but his return to running is delayed by illness
Should Coby White be the go-to guy for the Bulls in clutch situations?
Quotable
“I’m thinking like — ‘Wait, is this the right side if it’s this easy?’ I laid it in and then I ain’t hear nobody yelling at me and I’m like all right, bet, cool.” — Ayo Dosunmu on scoring a dunk off tipoff against the Portland Trail Blazers
