Report: Bulls forward could be in danger of missing matchup vs. Cavs

Chicago Bulls forward Patrick Williams reportedly could be in danger of missing the team’s matchup versus the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday. He is questionable to play for Chicago.

Williams is in his fourth season in the NBA and with the Bulls franchise after being selected with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.

He is averaging 9.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game while shooting 45.0 percent from the field, 40.8 percent from behind the 3-point arc and 76.7 percent from the charity stripe across 39 games played with Chicago so far during the 2023-24 regular season.

The 22-year-old missed the Bulls’ most recent game against the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday due to injury. The Bulls beat the Spurs by six points even without Williams in the lineup thanks to a dominant game from big man Nikola Vucevic.

On Friday, Williams played 29 minutes in the team’s loss to the Golden State Warriors and racked up nine points, three rebounds, seven assists and one steal while shooting 4-of-8 from the floor.

The Bulls will soon take on a Cavaliers team that has been playing some of its best basketball of the season lately. The Cavaliers currently are riding a four-game winning streak, which is the longest active winning streak of any team in the Eastern Conference and tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder for the second-longest in the NBA, behind only the Utah Jazz.

Granted, the Cavaliers haven’t played any great teams during their winning streak, as the Washington Wizards, Spurs and Brooklyn Nets all have more losses than wins on the season. The Wizards and Spurs own identical records at 7-31. Regardless, the Cavs will take wins any way they can get them.

After hosting the Bulls on Monday, the Cavaliers will host one of the best teams in the NBA so far this season in the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks hold the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference and picked up wins over the Warriors and Boston Celtics in their two most recent games.