TORONTO — There’s a fine line between playing hurt and hurting the team, and Bulls forward Patrick Williams is learning to tell the difference.
After missing the previous two games with inflammation in his right ankle, Williams returned to the rotation Thursday and had 12 points.
Williams and coach Billy Donovan said the ankle could be an issue the rest of the season, and the key will be Williams being on the same page as the medical staff.
“I think the biggest thing for him is he’s got to do a really good job of communicating,” Donovan said. “There’s, like, a balance he’s trying to find where it’s, ‘OK, you’re at the halfway point of the season; everybody’s body is beaten up to a certain standpoint. You’re dealing with things, but then you have to determine what things are preventing you from going out there and doing your job and what things you need to fight through.’
“I do think this situation with the ankle was preventing him from doing his job. I think it’s something we’re going to have to maintenance because he missed two games, and I always feel that when you get a series of games after something like this, you can kind of see how he responds to it. We certainly have to look after him and make sure he’s OK, take his temperature, take his pulse and see where he’s at.”
A lot of the responsibility falls on Williams, and it’s not an easy ask, especially for a player who didn’t miss a game last season and is in a contract year. There’s pressure to perform.
“He’s not one of those guys where, ‘Hey, I don’t feel great today; my ankle is bothering me,’ ’’ Donovan said. “He’s not a complainer or a guy that brings a lot of issues. But he’s got to communicate more, so that he’s not setting himself back where something could be resolved in 24 hours or 48 hours, and it takes five days instead. But I think he’s getting better at handling it.”
Tragic loss
Center Nikola Vucevic knew Dejan Milojevic not only as a great player and basketball mind but as an even better person.
That’s why Milojevic’s death has affected so many.
The Warriors assistant coach died Wednesday after an apparent heart attack at 46. Vucevic spoke about him before the game against the Raptors.
‘‘I met him when he came with the Warriors at games and things like that,” Vucevic said. “Obviously, I’ve known of him since I was very young. He was a great player overseas and very well-respected. But he also was known not just as a basketball guy but as a fantastic person. From the few times I spoke to him, he was always very, very positive, great energy, so it’s tragic that such a young person has died, and obviously you also feel for his family. His wife, two kids, very sad. It was a shock for a lot of people worldwide, not just in basketball, but especially back home.”
The Warriors have postponed their last two scheduled games.
Shouldering the load
Guard Ayo Dosunmu was struggling to get through the loss in Cleveland after injuring his shoulder during the game, but after limitations in practice and some treatment, he was back at it against Toronto.
Dosunmu returned to his normal bench role and had no minutes restrictions.
