{"id":539301,"date":"2026-01-15T22:38:19","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T22:38:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/539301\/"},"modified":"2026-01-15T22:38:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T22:38:19","slug":"chicago-bulls-give-optimistic-injury-update-on-josh-giddey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/539301\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicago Bulls Give Optimistic Injury Update on Josh Giddey"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"Paragraph_blockParagraph__I2kr4\">The Chicago Bulls have spent most of the season stuck in neutral, and injuries continue to be the common denominator.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_blockParagraph__I2kr4\">Chicago enters mid-January as the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference at 19-21, struggling to generate momentum amid a revolving door of availability issues. Over the past 10 games, the Bulls have gone 4-6, and while several absences have contributed to that slide, none has been more damaging than the loss of Josh Giddey.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_blockParagraph__I2kr4\">Giddey has been sidelined since Dec. 29 after suffering a left hamstring injury against the Minnesota Timberwolves. At the time, the Bulls announced he would miss at least two weeks. More than two weeks later, Chicago has been forced to adapt without its offensive engine with mixed results. That stretch has not been kind to the standings as they have loss 4 of their last 6 games. <\/p>\n<p><img id=\"11368495\" alt=\"\" caption=\"CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - DECEMBER 17: Head coach Billy Donovan of the Chicago Bulls talks with Josh Giddey #3 against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the first half at the United Center on December 17, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement.  (Photo by Michael Reaves\/Getty Images)\" credit=\"\" sourcealt=\"\" sources=\"[]\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"4714\" height=\"3143\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" style=\"color:transparent;aspect-ratio:inherit;object-fit:cover\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-2252468813.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_blockParagraph__I2kr4\"><a>MORE: Jonathan Kuminga Makes Bold Decision Ahead of Trade Deadline<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_blockParagraph__I2kr4\">On Jan. 14, Bulls head coach Billy Donovan offered a cautiously optimistic update, confirming that Giddey has begun ramping up his activity. The ramp-up period is expected to last roughly a week, putting a potential return on the table before the start of February, if there are no setbacks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_blockParagraph__I2kr4\">\u201cThis is going to be a big week for him,\u201d Donovan said Wednesday, via the Chicago Sun-Times. \u201cI\u2019m a little hesitant to say that will happen because I don\u2019t think they\u2019ve really stretched him out to sit there and say. But the plan is, if everything goes well over the course of the week, he should be back relatively soon after that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_blockParagraph__I2kr4\">Before the injury, Giddey was putting together the most complete season of his career. He\u2019s averaging 19.2 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 9.0 assists, numbers that reflect not just production, but responsibility. The ball has lived in his hands, and Chicago\u2019s offense has been shaped around his tempo, vision, and ability to impact the game without scoring being the lone focus. That absence shows up clearly in the numbers.<\/p>\n<p><img id=\"11368499\" alt=\"\" caption=\"ATLANTA, GEORGIA - DECEMBER 23:  Josh Giddey #3 of the Chicago Bulls reacts after a basket against the Atlanta Hawks during the fourth quarter at State Farm Arena on December 23, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia.  NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement.  (Photo by Kevin C. Cox\/Getty Images)\" credit=\"\" sourcealt=\"\" sources=\"[]\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"3598\" height=\"2537\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" style=\"color:transparent;aspect-ratio:inherit;object-fit:cover\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-2253336746.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_blockParagraph__I2kr4\"><a>MORE: Nikola Jokic Is Out of the MVP Race If Latest Injury Update is True<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_blockParagraph__I2kr4\">As the Eastern Conference Play-In race tightens, Chicago\u2019s margin for error continues to shrink. The Bulls don\u2019t need Giddey rushed back, but they do need him healthy, steady, and capable of restoring some structure to a season that has lacked continuity. If his ramp-up continues without issue, that stabilizing presence may not be far off.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Chicago Bulls have spent most of the season stuck in neutral, and injuries continue to be the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":539302,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3771],"tags":[7,920,919,329,3824,965,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-539301","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-bulls","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-bulls","10":"tag-chicago","11":"tag-chicago-bulls","12":"tag-chicagobulls","13":"tag-josh-giddey","14":"tag-nba"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115901518441679513","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=539301"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539301\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/539302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=539301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=539301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=539301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}