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Joe Cowley

Chicago Bulls reporter

Joe Cowley covers the Chicago Bulls for the Chicago Sun-Times.

Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey jumped into the national spotlight this season, becoming an All-Star, leading the 76ers to the playoffs and edging out White for the league award.
The early years of the Karnisovas regime brought a wave of excitement around the Bulls, but now it feels like once Plan A broke down on the side of the road, there was no Plan B.
There was a lot of tough talk from Karnisovas on Saturday, especially with the Bulls out of the playoff picture again. It all sounded good, but the Bulls have reached the point where words must be turned into action.
The Heat jumped on the Bulls midway through the first quarter and never let go the rest of the night. With this Bulls roster falling short yet again, there’s some serious soul-searching to do, starting with free agent DeMar DeRozan.
Ball hasn’t played since the 2021-22 season. Since that time, Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu have emerged as legit scorers. Has the guard room gotten too crowded? Donovan doesn’t think so.
The Heat lost to the 76ers on Wednesday and have lost Jimmy Butler to a knee injury. The Bulls could take advantage of Butler’s absence Friday.
Coby White led with a career-high 42 points, and the Bulls will face the Heat on Friday for the No. 8 seed in the East.
Andre Drummond (left ankle) and Ayo Dosunmu (right quadriceps) were sidelined at the end of the regular season, but they were cleared for the game vs. Atlanta, giving coach Billy Donovan some much-needed depth.
Caruso likely will draw the Trae Young assignment first, but with guard Ayo Dosunmu close to a possible return from an injured quadriceps, Young could face a two-headed monster.