There was a lot of talk coming from the Bulls locker room in the last 24 hours about the “next-man-up mentality,” and on Wednesday, coach Billy Donovan showed who those next men up would be.
With Coby White (right calf), Josh Giddey (left hamstring), and Zach Collins (right toe) each sidelined for at least a week—and in Giddey’s case, two weeks—Donovan unveiled his new-look rotation, at least for now. Against a physical Pelicans lineup, Donovan tried to match their size by starting Isaac Okoro, Nikola Vucevic, Matas Buzelis, and Jalen Smith, while going with only one guard in Tre Jones.
Donovan’s first five off the bench were Patrick Williams, Dalen Terry, Jevon Carter, Kevin Huerter, and Ayo Dosunmu. Expect this rotation to be a work in progress and one that could change from game to game based on matchups and who is playing well.
“Everyone knows their role on this team,” Okoro said of the undermanned roster. “No one is too big-headed or out there trying to be a superstar on this team. Everyone knows their roles, knows what they need to do to impact winning, so as long as guys know that, I think we’ll be in a good place. We have enough here.
“Just play with energy, play with a high spirit, do the things we can control. Of course, not having bodies out there is bad, but we have enough. Control what we can control.”
This is the same message Donovan has been preaching since they knew they would be without Collins for at least two weeks back on Monday, and then lost White and Giddey in that blowout loss to Minnesota later that night.
“It’s a results-oriented business, but I look at it as a 48-minute game,” Donovan said. “Can we play to an identity, covering for each other on defense, helping each other on offense, moving the basketball, playing the right way, not turning it over? To me, there are certain things we can do as a basketball team. Are we good enough to actually overcome and go win games? It remains to be seen, but I know if we don’t do those things, we have no chance.”
### Back-to-Back Talk
The back-to-back games with Philadelphia and Milwaukee last weekend were the first two back-to-backs White played this season. The guard suffered his first right calf injury back in August and missed months because of it, so the team stayed away from that kind of workload.
Then, he comes out of that back-to-back feeling fine, but feels tightness in the very next game. That’s why Donovan and the team’s medical staff might completely shut him down from back-to-backs when he is healthy for the foreseeable future this season.
“That’s been a topic of conversation,” Donovan said. “That was the first back-to-back he played. He came out of it fine, but they are trying to go through every minute detail that he does every single day.”
### Quiet Whispers
The Sun-Times, as well as other media outlets, have reported that the Bulls have kept a distant eye on the situation with Zion Williamson and his future with the Pelicans.
They can look away for the time being because the former No. 1 overall pick from the 2019 draft seems to be in a good place with his organization. Not only is Williamson coming off a December in which his availability was solid—he played in nine games since Dec. 14—but so were his numbers, averaging 22.5 points and 5.9 rebounds while shooting 60.2% from the field.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/bulls/2025/12/31/bulls-coach-billy-donovan-unveils-new-look-rotation
