The Bulls will kick off their 2018-19 regular season campaign with a match-up against the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night. However, it sounds like Chicago will be without the services of point guard Kris Dunn.
According to an official statement from Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg, Dunn has been excused from Thursday's game for a personal matter. Cameron Payne will start in his place.
“Kris Dunn is excused tonight for a personal matter. We will start Cam Payne in his place.” Coach Hoiberg
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) October 18, 2018
Dunn, now 24 years of age, made 52 appearances with the Bulls last season, racking up averages of 13.4 points on 42.9 percent shooting from the field (32.1 percent from beyond the arc), 6.0 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.0 steals in 29.3 minutes per outing.
Coach Hoiberg had high praise for Kris Dunn earlier this month.
“I look at the way Kris has handled everything since he got back (to Chicago) in September full time, he's just been a rock star,” Hoiberg told Daily Herald. “He's been coming in every day to work with a great approach and we've loved what we've seen out of him early on in the season.”
Kris Dunn isn't the only player that will be missing Thursday's season opener for the Bulls. K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune reports that Denzel Valentine, who's been dealing with a sprained left ankle throughout much of the preseason, is also out against the Sixers.
Denzel Valentine also out vs. 76ers.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) October 18, 2018
With Valentine ruled out, Justin Holiday will likely see an up-tick in minutes.
Thursday night's Bulls-Sixers game is scheduled to tip inside the Wells Fargo Center at 8:00 p.m. EST with TNT having live broadcast coverage.
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