Josh Giddey sits against Pacers and Bulls will be careful with his return

Josh Giddey was held out Wednesday against the Pacers with tightness in his left hamstring, the same one that had cost him 19 games earlier this season. Coach Billy Donovan said Giddey is day-to-day.

Whether Giddey will play again this season is up in the air.

Donovan described how the Bulls must weigh players’ desire to play with their safety. One example is forward/center Jalen Smith, who reaggravated his right calf during the Bulls’ March 25 game in Philadelphia. The Bulls could have ramped up Smith’s recovery and potentially gotten him back for the last couple of games but decided against it, shutting him down a day after the injury.

Giddey won’t be any different. It sounds like his health, and not lottery odds, will determine his next action.

“If they’re healthy, [the players] want to play,” Donovan said. “I’ve heard nothing from anybody that we would hold guys out unless it was for a medical reason or we were concerned about something potentially going into the offseason that would linger on and be a problem.”

Soft-tissue injuries, such as Giddey’s hamstring, can be tricky for everybody involved. As the players recover, they can feel well and not experience tightness. The medical team is tasked with testing the player, crafting a minutes restriction and, in some cases, stepping in to say a player should not be active.

“The players respect the medical guys when they do that,” Donovan said. “

Jones’ jump

If the Bulls were still in contention for even a play-in berth, guard Tre Jones would be peaking at the right time. Instead, Jones is just trying to finish strong for a team whose season is ending April 12.

Before then, Jones and his teammates are working to hone their identity as a team that plays fast and make strides on defense.

“It’s still a dream of ours to wake up and play basketball every day,” Jones said. “We’re all extremely driven still. We don’t need any other motivators [or] anything else to keep us going.”

Prior to Wednesday, Jones was surging over the Bulls’ past six games. During that stretch, Jones scored at least 15 points in each contest, averaging 18.8.

He also managed to distribute to his teammates, giving out 5.7 assists per game.

“Just trying to continue to stay aggressive,” Jones said. “A lot of times I am looking to pass first, so that sometimes means I’m passing up on shots. Continue to just try to take those shots and know that it will open up passes for my teammates, knowing that the defense knows I want to pass first.”

Jones’ shot, however, has been dangerous.

Before the game, Jones was shooting a career-best 54.8% from the floor. That’s helped him lead the team with 5.0 win shares and an offensive rating of 129.

“I’m trying to impact winning as best as I can, both on the offensive side and defensive side and continue to try to become a better leader for our group,” Jones said.

Briefly

Center/forward Guerschon Yabusele (sprained left ankle) played but center Nick Richards (sprained right elbow) was out. Donovan said Richards is progressing but still having elbow issues.