Billy Donovan implies Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic will be back in the starting lineup

As both LaVine and Vooch played starter minutes as reserves, it appears imminent that the two All-Stars will soon regain their starting five.

© Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

Despite being questionable to play against the Charlotte Hornets on Monday, both Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic were eventually made available. But the interesting one for the two All-Stars was that coach Billy Donovan allowed them to remain as secondary units — repeating Friday's tactic he embraced at home.

As the Bulls finished the night with a 119-112 victory, both Zach and Vooch played extended minutes while coming off the bench. In fact, they played as part of the team's five-man unit throughout the overtime period against the Hornets.

LaVine and Vooch are set to start again 

In their last two games, in which they entered the game as reserves, both LaVine (33.0) and Vucevic (27.5) logged considerable minutes. As such, coach Donovan hinted at the postgame that the two stars might soon see themselves finally starting again.

"I think once you get them to 32, 35 [minutes], then there is no need to bring them off the bench." Donovan said postgame.

Drummond rose a to the occasion 

With both Zach and Vooch out, the Bulls have pretty much relied on their supporting units. But who stood out in truly a superb fashion was Andre Drummond.

As Vooch went out and got limited due to his groin strain, Andre boldly took over and accepted the starting gig in place of the Montenegrin big. Against the Hornets, he came up feasting once again with a 21-point, 15-rebound double-double.

Cleaning the glass 🧼@NBCSChicago | @AndreDrummond pic.twitter.com/hMEiP2kkau

— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) January 9, 2024

Throughout the last seven games as a starting center, Andre seemed to channel his old All-Star form as he averaged 14.0 points at a mind-boggling 17.4 boards rate. With that, Donovan couldn't praise the 30-year-old even more for the job well done in filling the important spot of the Bulls as both Vooch and Zach were restricted.

“I appreciate what Andre has done in the absence of Zach and Vuc,” Donovan said. “It's always a little bit funky when you have guys coming back into the rotation. We got all of these guys coming back and we have to find a chemistry and cohesiveness.”