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The Chicago Bulls have their second group play game for the NBA In-Season Tournament on Friday against the Orlando Magic. The Bulls and Magic also played a standard regular season game on Wednesday, and the Magic won on a near buzzer beater from Paolo Banchero. Chicago dropped their first group play game of the tournament against the Brooklyn Nets at home, so if they want a chance to advance past the group stage, they need to win this one. The Magic have also played just one group play game, and they also suffered a loss against the Nets.
When these two teams met on Wednesday in Chicago, the Bulls were without DeMar DeRozan as he was away from the team tending to personal matters. It would be huge for the Bulls to get him back for Friday's game, but head coach Billy Donovan still doesn't know whether or not he will be available, according to a tweet from K.C. Johnson. DeRozan is still away from the team due to the personal matter, and it is unclear when that will be resolved.
So far this season for the Bulls, DeMar DeRozan is averaging 21.2 PPG, 4.5 APG and 3.0 RPG. He is one of the best players on this team, and if Chicago is going to be successful, they need DeRozan in the lineup.
The NBA In-Season Tournament schedule is beginning to ramp up for the Bulls as they have another group play game next Friday, and then they finish it off on the road against the Celtics on November 28th. If Chicago doesn't have DeRozan for those games, things could get ugly.
