Earlier in the week, the Chicago Bulls were unsure if Josh Giddey would be available to play the Miami Heat in Wednesday night’s Play-In Tournament matchup.
The No. 9 seed Bulls are set to play the No. 10 seed Heat at the United Center at 6:30 p.m. CST for the right to travel to play the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night. The winner of that matchup will play the No. 1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs as the No. 8 seed.
The Chicago Bulls didn’t commit to Wednesday night
Head coach Billy Donovan wouldn’t commit to playing Giddey Wednesday night. The guard has been dealing with a muscle injury in his hand during his last six outings. Per Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune, Giddey has shot just 30.4% from beyond the arc in those six contests.
“It’s a problem,” Donovan said. “He’s trying to manage it as best he can. I think that (medical staff) felt like, even for him, an extra day of rest would maybe help the healing process.”
The injury worsened in the last week.
Giddey’s last game came in the Bulls’ 119-111 win over the Heat on April 9. He recorded a triple-double with 28 points, 16 rebounds, and 11 assists. He sat out Chicago’s final two games of the regular season against the Washington Wizards and Philadelphia 76ers.
Josh Giddey is set to play the Heat
Per K.C. Johnson of CHSN, Giddey revealed to reporters that he would play the Heat on Wednesday night.
“It’s just about managing the pain,” Giddey said of the hand injury.
He plans to play through the injury in the postseason before healing it in the offseason.
“It’s just about managing the pain.”
Giddey Said it’s a hard injury to heal and will address it fully in offseason. Said it’s a muscle issue in his hand, not his wrist. https://t.co/Ij2BLQ3028
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) April 15, 2025
Giddey chose to make his status known suddenly on Tuesday before Donovan could address reporters on Wednesday. And before the medical staff could rule him out, like they did against the wishes of three Bulls players before their contests against the Cavs on April 8.
Giddey is averaging 14.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game this season.
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