After a canceled trip to Washington, Donovan returns to Bulls bench
For two of the crazier endings in recent Bulls history, head coach Billy Donovan was stuck at home, living the emotions of a typical fan as DeMar DeRozan won consecutive games at the buzzer.
"The first one at Indiana, I didn't even know if we were going to get a shot up. I thought the clock was going to run out," Donovan said before his return to the bench Monday. "The second one, I about fell over the coffee table. I jumped up, I couldn't believe the shot out of the corner. The two shots were really, really remarkable. They were incredible."
After watching the Bulls go 5-0 in his absence, Donovan was back in action at the United Center, completing his 10 days in health and safety protocols. Donovan said he was actually cleared and tried to get to Washington on Saturday morning.
"That next morning was when that snowstorm came through," Donovan said. "My flight got canceled, so I couldn't get in until later in the afternoon. It was just too much, and talking to medical, they were like, 'Listen, just doing that is too much.' so I just stayed back."
Donovan said he noticed himself coughing more often than usual during the Dec. 23 practice, got himself checked and tested positive for COVID-19. He said he felt minor cold symptoms for a few days.
"I didn't feel 100% but I certainly didn't feel terrible or awful," he said. "I wasn't bedridden or anything else like that. Like I said, I probably could have continued on, but you want to keep everyone else safe."
Obviously, you don't want to have to count on a miracle 3-pointer at the buzzer, but the team did function well with assistant Chris Fleming filling in.
"One of the things we've talked a lot about here is the players staying ready because you never know what your team is going to look like," Donovan said. "I think that goes with coaching staffs as well. This stuff happens, but what you want to do coaching-wise is model what you're asking the players to do.
"I think Chris did a great job. I think our whole staff did a great job. I think one thing about it is, and he has sat next to me for seven years to my left, you cannot I think underestimate the value of a guy like Mo (Cheeks) for our staff, a guy that's been in this league for 40 years, is a Hall of Fame player. He's had three different head coaching stints.
"John Bryant moving in front of the bench to help. Really, I think it was a collective effort by everybody out there. I appreciate what everybody did and how hard they worked.
Donovan said assistant coach Josh Longstaff entered protocols and was not on the bench Monday.
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