PHOENIX — Injured Bulls guards Lonzo Ball and Zach LaVine finally will be reunited when the team arrives Tuesday in Los Angeles.
Unfortunately, it will be with the Bulls’ medical team rather than with the coaching staff, and it will involve rehabbing rather than playing basketball.
Coach Billy Donovan said Monday that LaVine (sprained right ankle) flew to Los Angeles rather than joining the team in Phoenix so he could continue his rehab. Ball, meanwhile, has been rehabbing in Los Angeles since having his third surgery on his left knee last year.
Both will get a lot of face time with their teammates, considering the Bulls will spend the next five days there.
‘‘[LaVine’s] getting better,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘I’m not aware of him doing anything on the court yet, but the report is he’s feeling better.’’
That doesn’t mean there’s a definite timetable for LaVine’s return. But if his past history with sprained ankles means anything, he’s not expected to be out for very long.
‘‘I think there’s optimism that he’s responded pretty well in the past to some ankle sprains, but I think until he gets back on the court and starts moving, cutting, we’ll get a better feel when he starts to do those things,’’ Donovan said.
The news was far less promising for Ball.
Last month, Donovan was told that Ball — who hasn’t played in more than two years — was expected to start sprinting in January. That hasn’t happened yet, however.
‘‘He’s doing a lot of, like, agility work right now,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘He has not been cleared to fully sprint, but he is doing some more agility work. He hasn’t done any sprinting on the treadmill or straight ahead, but he is on the court [and] moving around.’’
Ball has popped in and out of Chicago throughout the season, and Donovan has stayed in contact with him in between those visits. But Ball coming back and staying with the team is still a ways down the road.
‘‘In my interaction with him, he feels good; he hasn’t had any setbacks,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘Everything they’ve progressed him to, he’s tolerated. It’s been good.’’
Tough love
Twice in the Bulls’ victory Saturday against the Grizzlies, Donovan gave forward Patrick Williams a quick hook — once in the first quarter and once at the start the second half.
Donovan explained his reasoning to Williams both times.
‘‘I just thought the first stint he was in there that there are opportunities that guys have to take advantage of close-outs and rotations,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘And I thought there were a couple of possessions there where he really had an opportunity to shoot it, drive it or make a play.
‘‘We talk about being aggressive, [and] it’s in those moments. I thought there were a couple of possessions there that he was a little bit passive on. [I] talked to him about it, and then I thought he was a little better as the game went on.’’
Williams scored eight points in 12 minutes in the second half of the Bulls’ blowout victory that night.
Williams said he doesn’t mind being coached hard.
‘‘Having those dialogues, whether it’s him taking me out or guys getting on me, that’s what development and learning is all about,’’ Williams said. ‘‘It’s not always going to be pretty, but now I can go back and work.’’
Getting there
Forward Torrey Craig (plantar fasciitis) hasn’t played since Dec. 16, but Donovan said he has started running and ‘‘getting work in.’’ Craig was expected to miss six to eight weeks before being evaluated again.
