The Chicago Bulls sat stars for load management ahead of a crucial game Wednesday. Will the approach pay off?

Chicago Tribune

08-04-2025

The Chicago Bulls aren't prone to load management.
It's become a point of pride over the past few years. Starters Nikola Vučević and Patrick Williams played all 82 games of the 2023-24 season. Former stars like DeMar DeRozan had to be convinced to sit out for the final game of the regular season once all playoff standings were set.
But Tuesday, they took a different tack.
The Bulls were scheduled for their final grueling back-to-back of the season, with a road game Tuesday against the Cleveland Cavaliers followed by a home game Wednesday against the Miami Heat. And the Bulls prioritized Wednesday's matchup against the Heat, which carries the heaviest play-in tournament implications.
Leading scorer Coby White was ruled out for rest late Monday night. Kevin Huerter — who started the last 12 games — was also ruled out with a right cervical strain. And both Vučević and Josh Giddey were listed as questionable for minor injuries Monday before ultimately sitting out Tuesday. This resulted in the first true load management rotation of the season for the Bulls.
The Bulls' choice makes sense. Of the two games, Wednesday's matchup has the higher stakes: with a win over the Heat, the Bulls could firmly secure home-court advantage for the ninth seed by moving 1 1/2 games ahead of Miami with only two games remaining in the season.
Managing minutes for White has been a concern all season. The guard is averaging 35 minutes per game since the All-Star break, a workload that has tested his endurance as the team's lead guard. Head coach Billy Donovan has emphasized the importance of getting White breaks whenever possible, especially as he prepares for his first-ever postseason as the primary scorer for the Bulls.
And players like Huerter, Giddey and Vučević have been playing through minor physical tweaks and knocks throughout the past month, lending credence to the importance of taking a breather Tuesday before a must-win game.
But did the Bulls put too much emphasis on Wednesday's game against Miami — and potentially miss an opportunity to climb even higher in the Eastern Conference standings?
The Bulls weren't the only short-handed team on Tuesday. The Cavaliers also held out star Donovan Mitchell — who is averaging 24 points and five assists in the sixth All-Star season of his career — after he suffered a left ankle sprain over the weekend. This considerable absence could have given the Bulls a golden opportunity to jockey for a top spot in the play-in tournament.
Maneuvering all the way to the seventh seed would require several strokes of luck, including the Bulls finishing the season on a 7-0 run while both the Atlanta Hawks and Orlando Magic simultaneously collapsed. But moving up to the eighth seed is much more tangible for the Bulls, who are only one game back from the Hawks.
If they gained the eighth seed, the Bulls could advance with a single win — the ultimate goal for a team that has lost the second game of the play-in tournament for two consecutive seasons. White attributed these losses to the team's inability to adjust after the emotional overflow of winning the initial game.
'How can we come down from that emotional high and do it again two days later and be able to have that same attention to detail, that same physicality, that same compete level?' White said. 'We got to get past the first game in general, but how can we bring that competitiveness in both of those situations? Because it's a single-game elimination. It's just like March Madness.'
Ultimately, the Bulls are making the safe — and advisable — decision. While their performance in past play-in tournaments is clearly a concern, the Bulls also have to weigh the importance of positioning themselves for the second game of a back-to-back.
The Bulls have a 4-8 record when playing on no rest this season. Some of these losses were circumstantial due to the strength of the opponent, but it's clear this team struggles to produce the depth and consistency necessary to log games on consecutive nights. And if the Bulls drop a loss on Wednesday, it could plunge them all the way back into the 10th seed.
Still, the Bulls will have to wait until Wednesday to see if the added day of rest is enough to secure the ninth seed — and avoid another play-in trip to Miami.