Following the Chicago Bulls' 118-105 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night at the United Center, the Bulls announced that rookie forward Lauri Markkanen will not travel with the team on Saturday for Chicago's road game against the Detroit Pistons.
According to an article written on Friday night by Bulls beat reporter Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, Markannen will not be playing the second game of a back-to-back in order to rest his back.
“I felt okay. Of course, you think about it a little bit, but it was good to get out there and get some run in,” Markkanen said after the game. “I want to play every game, but you’ve got to be smart, too.’’
Markkanen, who had missed the Bulls' last five games due to his back issue, was able to start Friday's game against the Bucks and had nine points (3-of-7 shooting from the field, including 1-of-2 from behind the arc) and six rebounds in just 22 minutes of action.
The Bulls came out of the gate fast and led Milwaukee 34-24 after the first quarter, which is something that made head coach Fred Hoiberg very happy despite the loss.
“I loved our effort, especially early,” coach Hoiberg said. “We came into the game with the right mentality. I thought we really set the tone in the first quarter.”
With just 10 games remaining in the regular season and Chicago already mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, the Bulls have now lost four straight games to drop them to a 24-48 record on the season.
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