4 Bulls in NBA safety protocol; will miss Wizards game

Published Dec. 31, 2020 4:43 p.m. ET

Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Four Chicago Bulls players are in the NBA’s health and safety protocol and are not available for Thursday’s game with the Washington Wizards.

Forwards Lauri Markkanen, the team’s second leading scorer and top rebounder and Chandler Hutchison and guards Ryan Arcidiacono and Tomas Satoransky have been ruled out.

“You’ve got to stay flexible,” Chicago coach Billy Donovan said. “A lot of different things can happen. You’ve got to be able to handle them. Obviously, a lot for us to digest and deal with going into this game.”

The Bulls play at Milwaukee on Friday night, and Donovan expects his team to be short-handed again.

“My guess is yes, it’s going to go on here for a period of time,” Donovan said. “How long, I’m really unsure of that. I think daily testing helps bring some clarity where guys are at. I don’t know how long it will be, but I think it will be some time.”

Markkanen was already questionable for the game with a left calf injury.

___

More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports