Chicago Bulls Injury Report: Step in the Right Direction for Josh Giddey, Tre Jones

The Chicago Bulls will have to wait a little longer to see how their lead ballhandler fits with the roster's many new additions.

Josh Giddey has remained sidelined since January 28. The guard re-aggravated a hamstring injury that previously held him out for roughly three weeks. The Bulls were taking things extra slow with Giddey upon his initial return, limiting him to under 30 minutes in four straight games. Nevertheless, the workload still led the 23-year-old to experience some tightness, and he has sat in street clothes since.

Monday finally saw a slight change in Giddey's injury designation. The Bulls upgraded him to doubtful in the lead-up to their meeting with the Brooklyn Nets out East. Chicago Sports Network's K.C. Johnson also shared that Giddey did some work with the training staff and got shots up during the team's shootaround. All positive signs.

Tre Jones received essentially the same update. Chicago's other high-IQ facilitator, he has been out with a hamstring injury even longer than his backcourt colleague. Jones suffered his strain in a January 22 meeting with the Timberwolves and has been slowly working his way back since. Also upgraded to doubtful on Monday, there is a good chance that both Giddey and Jones will be given the green light to return on the same night.

With that said, what's the rush for the Bulls? Wednesday night's game with Boston will mark the Bulls' last before the All-Star break. Both Giddey and Jones would then have a full seven days off before the schedule starts up again, and this will also be the start of an uncharacteristic seven-game home stretch. What better time to welcome both back than on their home court?

Relatedly, there is an argument to make that it would be in the Bulls' best interest to take things very slowly with Giddey and Jones moving forward. The team added several new guards to the roster over the last week, and ensuring that at least a couple of those players receive ample playing time is key. To be sure, you want to see how the likes of Rob Dillingham and Jaden Ivey can co-exist with Giddey, but it's most important to simply provide them with a clear runway.

In other injury news, Jalen Smith is questionable after missing Saturday night's game against the Denver Nuggets with a calf injury. If he can go, it will be interesting to see how Billy Donovan chooses to run his big man rotation. Nick Richards appeared in his first outing as a Bull this weekend, while Guerschon Yabusele got the start. Will both continue to play if Smith is active?

The Bulls may want to take some notes from the Nets, by the way. A team that is every much in the "tank race," they appear to have no shame in sitting their top contributors. Rookie Egor Demin is receiving a surprising rest night, while leading scorer Porter Jr. is listed as out with a knee tendinitis. Porter Jr. played just two nights prior in a win over the Washington Wizards.

Chicago Bulls Injury Report

Jalen Smith – QUESTIONABLE (calf)
Josh Giddey – DOUBTFUL (hamstring)
Tre Jones – DOUBTFUL (hamstring)
Zach Collins – OUT (toe)

Brooklyn Nets Injury Report

Egor Demin – OUT (rest)
Michael Porter Jr. – OUT (knee)