The Bulls, 1-2 and 11th in the East, visit the Celtics tonight with Patrick Williams and Noa Essengue both day-to-day. Nic Claxton remains out.
Two bodies, no clearance. Williams (groin) and Essengue (head) moved from out to day-to-day Sunday, each with an Oct. 26 estimate. Day-to-day is not a green light. Splitter may not know who he has until the Boston lineup is set.
Boston, then Boston again. Tonight at the Celtics, then the Knicks at home Wednesday, then back in Boston Friday for an Emirates NBA Cup game. Joe Mazzulla's team is 1-1 with two days of rest. Chicago has one day and three games in seven. Devin Carter is out for Boston with an illness.
The number is 124. Every opponent has scored at least that many on Chicago: 135 at Toronto, 125 at Milwaukee, 124 against Washington. The Bulls won one of the three only because they scored 132. Winning that way every night is not a plan.
Wilson keeps carrying it. Caleb Wilson put up 30 points and 14 rebounds against the Wizards after 21 at Milwaukee. Matas Buzelis added 21 Saturday, and Norman Powell had 25 in the Bucks win. The scoring is there. The stops are not.
A seed built on sand. At 1-2, Chicago sits one game behind sixth-place Indiana and level with 10th-place Orlando. The seed has gone 12th, 11th, 8th, 10th and back to 11th in five days. The current pace projects to 27-55, worse than last year's 31-51.
Claxton and a hard stretch. Claxton (hamstring) is out with a Nov. 4 estimate, the date of the Knicks game in New York. The Chicago Sun-Times wrote Sunday that the schedule is about to turn brutal. Without its starting center, Chicago has to survive it.
Will Patrick Williams play against the Celtics?
Williams is day-to-day with a right groin issue and has an estimated return of Oct. 26. He has not been cleared.
When is Nic Claxton expected back for the Bulls?
Claxton is out with a hamstring injury and has an estimated return of Nov. 4, the date of the Bulls' game at the Knicks.
