(670 The Score) Bulls star guard Zach LaVine will sit out against the Nets on Saturday afternoon due to a minor knee issue, coach Billy Donovan said.
The decision to rest LaVine comes a day after Chicago was officially eliminated from play-in contention by virtue of Washington's win against Cleveland. The Bulls have two games remaining, as they host the Bucks on Sunday after their game against the Nets on Saturday.
"He's been dealing with some knee issues, nothing serious, more like on the tendinitis side," Donovan said of LaVine, an All-Star who's averaging a team-high 27.4 points on spectacular efficiency. "But he's been pretty sore.
"He's feeling some discomfort there. Obviously, we're going to be protective of him."
Big man Daniel Theis (hip), guard Tomas Satoransky (ankle) and wing Troy Brown Jr. (ankle) are also out Saturday. All of them had previously been listed on the injury report with their ailments. LaVine wasn't listed on the injury report Friday evening.
With no play-in hopes, the Bulls (30-40) would be best-served to lose their final two games to secure their best odds possible in the NBA draft lottery. The Bulls owe the Magic their first-round pick this year, but it's top-four protected. The Bulls currently have a 26.3% chance to land a top-four pick and will retain those odds if they lose their final two games.
If the Bulls win one or both of their final two games, those 26.3% odds could drop, depending on how the Kings and Pelicans finish.
While not yet ready to digest the season as a whole, Donovan spoke generally about the Bulls being eliminated from play-in contention.
"Obviously you're disappointed, you want to still be able to have an opportunity," he said. "But, you know, like I said from the beginning at least when we talked about some of this stuff even a few days ago, a few games ago, some of this was out of our control and all we could do is take care of what we can take care of. I think beating Toronto gave us an opportunity, but Washington last night winning certainly clinched it -- they deserved it, they found a way to get it done. But obviously there's still more left of the season here and we've got a back-to-back coming up against two really good teams. I probably haven't taken as much time as I probably need to on that just because you're trying to get ready today and then obviously you have a game tomorrow."
Cody Westerlund is a sports editor for 670TheScore.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.
