It was coming together for Ayo Dosunmu the last month.
Good thing he’s used to adversity.
The Bulls announced on Saturday that the sore Achilles that kept him out of the last game is now being called a strained lower calf after they were able to run Dosunmu through some imaging on Friday.
Short-term he’ll be shut down for 10 days and then re-evaluated, but because of the sensitivity of calf injuries don’t expect a quick return, especially for a player that counts on his start and stop like Dosunmu does.
“Let it calm done,” coach Billy Donovan said of the injury. “No tears or anything like that, but certainly a strain showed up. With the way he plays it’s probably in an area that will continue to cause problems unless he rests it.
“You’re always going to be susceptible to causing more problems. It was something that was caught earlier, which is a positive.”
At the same time, after a slow start to the season, Dosunmu really seemed to be finding his groove in December. He was averaging 14.2 points and 6.4 assists per game in his last nine games, while putting his three-point shooting woes behind him by hitting 39.5% from beyond the arc.
Dosunmu shot just 32% from three throughout the month of November.
With Dosunmu sidelined the Bulls lost arguably their best two-way backcourt player as well.
“He hasn’t shot the ball at the same level that he did a year ago, but I felt that he was really starting to come on the last five or 10 games,” Donovan said. “The thing I love about him is the mental part of it. He’s a tough competitive guy and I think he’s learned, he’s grown. I think he takes challenges on defensively. Zach (LaVine) has done a really good job defensively this year. I don’t want to sit here and say he’s our best two-way player, but certainly he’s a guy we feel comfortable putting on other team’s best perimeter player.
“He’s taken on those challenges. Also done a really good job offensively forcing pace and getting the ball up the floor and putting us in situations where we can generate quick, easy shots.”
What Donovan has on his side, however, is depth at the guard position. Lonzo Ball was back in action after dealing with illness the last two games, while Josh Giddey returned from his right ankle injury.
Then there’s Jevon Carter waiting in the wings, fresh off a 26-point performance in which he hit seven threes.
As far as Dosunmu cooling off or getting out of rhythm while he’s sidelined, Donovan was confident that the guard is built to overcome that.
“I would say there’s always a common denominator of how guys handle adversity and the guys that are the most successful at handling it, and that’s the guys that look inward instead of outward,” Donovan said. “I think with Coby (White) and Ayo, both those guys are good at assuming responsibility that they can get better.”
King him
Donovan and Bucks coach Doc Rivers both expressed their disappointment over Sacramento firing Mike Brown. Coaches just protecting coaches? Not in this case, according to Donovan.
“I know Mike, he’s a great guy, I think he’s a terrific coach,” Donovan said. “You hate to see something like that happen.”
Missing size
It’s never good to play undersized against the Bucks, but back-up center Jalen Smith was dealing with left ankle soreness and couldn’t go for the Bulls. The injury wasn’t believed to be serious, however.
