Wendell Carter Jr. is about to get some much-needed practice time to test his injured quadriceps after all.
The game Wednesday between the Bulls and Grizzlies in Memphis, Tennessee, was postponed, giving the Bulls an easier week, especially considering their injuries.
Carter suffered the injury during practice Thursday, with the team heading to Charlotte, North Carolina, later that afternoon.
Because the Bulls had games Friday and Saturday, followed by the usual day off after back-to-back games, there was no time for Carter to test the quad before the game Monday against the Celtics at the United Center.
Now that there’s no game Wednesday, Carter can have another day of treatment Tuesday, then return to practice for three consecutive days before the Bulls host the Trail Blazers on Saturday.
And Carter isn’t the only one to benefit.
Tomas Satoransky and Chandler Hutchison have been active since returning from positive tests for the coronavirus, but the Bulls have been watching their minutes because of lost conditioning. Both are expected to be active against the Celtics and then will have a full week of practice.
The game against the Grizzlies marks the Bulls’ second postponement because of the NBA’s coronavirus protocols. It’s the fifth consecutive game postponed for the Grizzlies (sixth overall), who haven’t played since Jan. 18. They might not take the floor again until Jan. 30, when they are scheduled to visit the Spurs.
According to the league, the Grizzlies haven’t been able to field enough players to practice or play in games because of contact tracing.
As far as makeup dates for all of these games, there’s a reason the NBA didn’t put out a schedule for the second half of the season. Its initial hope was to get a 72-game season in, but the reality is some teams might not reach that, forcing the NBA to use winning percentage as the tiebreaker for playoff spots.
