The Bykov missing starting center Nick Claxton to open the regular season, but they got some reinforcements in their frontcourt on Wednesday Zach Collins is back after missing the preseason with a quad injury. At this point, he will be limited to approximately 12 to 16 minutes per game as Joe Cawley of The Chicago Sun-Times writes.
“The hardest thing about Zach is that he hasn’t played yet,” head coach Tiago Splitter said before Wednesday’s game against Toronto. “He didn’t play a lot last year, so we want to gradually work him into the rotation and see those combinations, double or not. We’ll have time to see it, it’ll be a small sample, but we’ll try different combinations.”
Collins was held scoreless in nine minutes of action Wednesday as the Bulls were on the wrong end of a 135-92 beatdown by the Raptors. Still, the veteran big man had five rebounds and the Bulls outscored Toronto by seven points during his time on the floor.
Although Collins seems to be moving in the right direction playing for the Bulls Josh Giddy The Athletic’s Joel Lorenzi raised eyebrows after the loss when asked about his left wrist wrap, telling reporters he suffered the injury in preseason training and will have to deal with it “throughout the season” (Link to Twitter).
When asked if it was tissue damage, Giddy referred the question to the Bulls’ medical staff, Lorenzi added. The 24-year-old guard was not listed on Chicago’s pregame injury report Wednesday. tweets KC Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network.
We’ve got more from across the Central Division:
- Spare wing Javonte Greenwho scored 19 points in the second half to help lead the way Pistons to Tuesday’s comeback win after being shut out in the first half was a reminder of Detroit’s impressive depth, writes Hunter Patterson of The Athletic. “We have a high level of trust in everyone on our list,” head coach J. Bickerstaff said. “We know at any point in time we have a guy we can replace depending on what the mood calls for.” Start center Jalen Duren agreed with his coach’s assessment: “That’s what makes us a team, you know? Having guys that are deep, guys that can come in and make plays automatically, guys that know their roles and play their roles as well as they can — that’s how we get wins like this. That’s how we become successful.”
- Cavaliers perspective Saliu Nyang has been cleared to play for LSU this season as the NCAA has ruled him eligible, according to reports Sporty and confirmed by Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (Link to Twitter). Niang, who was selected 58th overall in the 2025 draft after spending last season in Italy with Virtus Bologna, will be the Cavs’ domestic draft-and-stash player.
- It’s been more than a year since Pacers lost to Oklahoma City in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, but most of the players who were on the court for Indiana in that game are still on the roster, and they continue to be fueled by that loss as Tony East writes for Forbes. The Pacers, who will be looking to return to the Finals in 2027, got off to a good start Wednesday in the Tyrese HalliburtonHalliburton had 23 points and 12 assists in the first regular season game since April 2025 in a 123-120 win at New Orleans.