Collins Set for Season Debut as Bulls Try to Halt Slide
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CHICAGO — Head coach Billy Donovan said veteran center Zach Collins will make his 2025/26 season debut Friday when the Chicago Bulls host the Indiana Pacers. The 27-year-old has been sidelined since mid-October, when a preseason game left him with a non-displaced fracture in his left wrist that required surgery. Cleared for contact earlier in the week, Collins will be limited to roughly 20 minutes.
The Bulls will also regain leading scorer Coby White, who missed the past three games because of a left calf strain. An MRI earlier this week showed no structural damage, and Donovan plans to cap the 25-year-old guard at around 24 minutes.
Chicago native Ayo Dosunmu will not play. The third-year guard was downgraded to out with a right thumb sprain after initially being listed as questionable. Dosunmu is averaging 15.8 points, 3.1 assists and 2.6 rebounds while shooting 52.9 percent from the field, 49.4 percent from three and 85.2 percent at the foul line across 19 games. He is one of six Bulls ruled out for the matchup.
Early Spark Fades
Chicago opened the season 5-0 but has dropped 12 of its past 16 contests, including five straight entering Friday. The slide features losses to New Orleans (3-20), Charlotte (6-16), Indiana (4-18) and Brooklyn (5-17). After a defeat to the Nets on Wednesday, Donovan questioned his team’s intensity, saying players should “be playing all-out crazy hard.”
Buzelis Preaches Patience
Second-year forward Matas Buzelis acknowledged his development has been uneven but expressed confidence that steady work will pay off. “Waiting is the right word to use,” the 21-year-old said. “There’s always going to be ups and downs … but you continue to work, you continue to get better.”
Source: Hoops Rumors
