Uncertainty surrounds Bulls’ lineup with season set to begin Wednesday

Coach Billy Donovan still doesn’t know what his starting lineup will look like when the Bulls’ regular season tips off Wednesday against the Hawks at the United Center.

Donovan isn’t certain how the rotations will line up or what personnel he might use to close games.

Heck, the NBA’s coronavirus protocols mean Donovan isn’t sure which players he’ll have available Wednesday.

What he does know is that uncertainty is common throughout the NBA and that few teams will be immune from that.

‘‘I’m trying to keep an open mind,’’ Donovan said Sunday. ‘‘I mean, I don’t know where [forward] Thad [Young] is going to end up being on opening night. I don’t know where Sato [guard Tomas Satoransky] is going to be opening night. We could have some guys potentially just not available, so you could go in with some kind of plan, but you don’t know if you’re necessarily able to stick to it.’’

Donovan could count on some things during the preseason. Coby White was his starting point guard, teamed with shooting guard Zach LaVine in the backcourt. The frontcourt mainstays were power forward Lauri Markkanen and center Wendell Carter Jr. That’s likely not going to change for the regular-season opener.

The indecision seems to be at small forward, weighing Otto Porter Jr. against rookie Patrick Williams.

Porter started the first two preseason games against the Rockets and Williams the last two against the Thunder. They have different skills that have to be evaluated to see how they fit with the other pieces — once Donovan knows which pieces he has.

Veteran combo guard Garrett Temple returned from his battle with the coronavirus and practiced with the team for the first time Sunday. Satoransky has been excused from the team without a clear explanation, and Young still is dealing with an infection in his left leg but is improving.

Then there’s swingman Denzel Valentine, who had been sidelined with a sore hamstring. He had been rehabbing for the last week, but he went through the full practice with no setbacks.

Donovan has two practices left to study different combinations.

‘‘Getting Garrett back and looking at him because he’s a bigger guard and can do a lot of different things,’’ Donovan said of the scenarios he is weighing. ‘‘You’re also weighing the groups and players that are trying to play together, and I don’t know if we necessarily have enough of a sample size to sit there and say, ‘Hey, I’m really comfortable with these lineups,’ because there’s probably more we’re going to have to see as we go through the course of the season.’’

It will be a season that will test everyone throughout the league.

‘‘It’s going to be tough, man,’’ Temple said. ‘‘It’s so much different than the bubble [in the summer and fall]. There are so many extenuating circumstances, so many outside influences. I think we’re going learn. Everybody’s going to learn on the fly.’’