Chicago Sports

Alex Caruso let the media know on Monday, that while his back tightness was still an issue, the guard planned to play against Milwaukee.

Good thing, because with just four games left in the regular season and so much uncertainty with what the playoffs will look like for the Bulls, it’s all hands on deck.

With everyone idle for the NCAA Championship Game, and a complete meltdown from Miami very unlikely at this point, here are the three most logical matchups for the Bulls in Round 1 as it stood going into this last week:

Philadelphia 76ers

Games Left: Four (at Indiana, at Toronto, Indiana, Detroit)

Where They Stand: Philadelphia is the team that currently matches up with the Bulls in the first-round No. 4 vs. No. 5. The 76ers, however, also have the easiest schedule left in the Eastern Conference, so their seeding could change.

How It Went: Philadelphia swept the Bulls in all four meetings in the regular season, beating them by an average of 10 points. The closest game was the first meeting, in which the Bulls lost by five in the “City of Brotherly Love.”

Concerns for the Bulls: MVP-candidate Joel Embiid has owned the Bulls throughout his career, never losing in 11 previous meetings. This season alone, he’s averaged 32.8 points, 12.3 rebounds and 1.8 blocks, while shooting 52.9% from the field and 47.1% from three. The addition of Tristan Thompson was supposed to help the Bulls have another body to throw at Embiid, but the big man put up 43 against Thompson back in March, and has always dominated him.

The Bulls Can Win If: James Harden has a history of disappearing in the playoffs, but that still doesn’t give the Bulls any answer for Embiid. The other issue is Nikola Vucevic’s offense obviously goes stagnant against Embiid. Vucevic missed one of the games, but still only shot 36.6% from the field. DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine have scored the ball well in the four games, but need help. Vucevic would have to make Embiid work on the defensive end for any chance.

Milwaukee Bucks

Games Left: Four (at Chicago, Boston, at Detroit, at Cleveland)

Where They Stand: The Bucks own the tie-breaker with the 76ers. Realistically, however, the first round meeting for the Bulls could be their division rivals from the Central just based on the remaining schedule.

How It Went: The Bulls were actually competitive in two of the first three meetings, and still have a crack at the defending champions Tuesday at the United Center.

Concerns for the Bulls: The last meeting in Milwaukee was full of concerns for the Bulls, as DeRozan and LaVine were each held to 21 points in the blowout. Milwaukee’s Jrue Holiday is a lockdown defender, able to make life hard for either Bulls All-Star. Meanwhile, Giannis Antetokounmpo averaged 30 and 15 in the three games this season.

The Bulls Can Win If: Forget trying to stop Antetokounmpo. The Bulls don’t have the personnel to do that. It’s about letting him get his, keep him off the offensive glass, and try and slow down everyone else. Holiday has given the Bulls issues in all three games, so it feels like an Alex Caruso mission to slow him down. They also have to make sure Khris Middleton doesn’t get cooking.

Boston Celtics

Games Left: Three (at Chicago, at Milwaukee, at Memphis)

Where They Stand: The Celtics were holding the No. 2 seed down by a half-game, but also have the most difficult schedule left of the three potential Bulls opponents. That included what could be a playoff preview on Wednesday, when Boston comes to the United Center.

How It Went: The Bulls and Celtics split the first two games, with the rubber match this week. The Bulls stunned the Celtics in Boston back on Nov. 1, coming back from a 19-point second-half deficit to win by 14. The second meeting was a two-point Celtics win, but Zach LaVine did not play.

Concerns for the Bulls: No team in the East has been better than Boston since the All-Star Game, especially on the defensive end. The Celtics were a completely different team in the first two meetings, with coach Ime Udoka seemingly figuring out his personnel and how to best utilize it.

The Bulls Can Win If: The Robert Williams III knee injury was huge for Boston on both ends of the floor, but they still have a physical presence in the middle with veteran Al Horfrod and Daniel Theis. Where the Bulls can get Boston, however, is in experience. DeRozan has been to a conference finals, while Caruso has won it all. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown showed an early-season tendency to live and die from three, so the Bulls can always hope the duo reverts back to that mentality.

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MESA, Ariz. – The Cubs’ first three starters are set for their opening series against the Brewers this week, after manager David Ross announced Monday that lefty Justin Steele would start Game 2 and right-hander Marcus Stroman Game 3.

Ross declined to explain his decision, but it made sense for a couple reasons. Stroman and Kyle Hendricks, the Opening Day starter, are still the leaders of the rotation. But pitching Steele in between Hendricks and Stroman separates the pair of crafty right-handers.

Hendricks and Stroman are also the most built up of any of the Cubs’ starters. So, pitching Steele second gives the Cubs a better idea of how to deploy their bullpen as the weekend progresses.

“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” Steele said of making the Opening Day roster. “I’m just a kid living in a dream out here.”

Steele made his major-league debut last April, serving as a reliever early in the year. But he came back in the last couple months of the season as a starter.

“To spend seven years in the minors – so it was a long journey, went to Tommy John surgery, went through some injuries to get to the big leagues, but it just made it all that [much] sweeter when I finally did make it,” he said. “And it’s been really cool to continue the journey.”

Steele posted a 2.70 ERA in Cactus League play this spring and made his last start in a intrasquad scrimmage Monday, opposite Stroman. That schedule lined them up for the second and third games, one pitcher on regular rest and the other with an extra day between starts.

Hendricks is set to take the mound at Wrigley Field on Thursday, followed by Steele on Friday and Stroman on Saturday. Ross has yet to announce Sunday’s starter, for the final game of the opening series. Lefty Drew Smyly and right-hander Alec Mills appear to be up for the spot.

After Ross’ announcement Monday, Stroman celebrated Steele’s start on Twitter with a series of congratulatory emojis.

“I’ll pitch day five, I really don’t care when I pitch,” Stroman said earlier this spring. “I’m going to be out there hopefully for 30-plus starts, and that’s the goal.”

Cubs make cuts

The Cubs made another round of camp cuts on Monday, assigning five non-roster invitees to Triple-A Iowa. Most notably, versatile infielder Ildemaro Vargas was among them.

The move makes first baseman/outfielder Alfonso Rivas the favorite infielder to replace Andrelton Simmons (right shoulder soreness) on the Opening Day roster if the shortstop begins the season on the injured list. Depending on the health of their pitching staff, the Cubs could also choose to carry 14 position players and 14 pitchers, rather than 13 and 15.

The Cubs also assigned right-handers Jonathan Holder and Robert Gsellman, and left-handers Steven Brault and Stephen Gonsalves to Triple-A.

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A man was shot and killed by Chicago police Sunday afternoon after firing at officers and critically wounding two people during a chaotic hostage situation near the Ford City Mall on the Southwest Side, officials said.

About 1:15 p.m., officers responded to a call of a person shot in the 4200 block of West Ford City Drive and found a 48-year-old woman suffering from a gunshot wound to the neck, police spokesman Tom Ahern said.

Officers attempted to make contact with the suspected shooter when he barricaded himself inside an apartment, Ahern said. The man then fired at the officers, who weren’t struck and didn’t immediately fire back.

After a SWAT team tried to negotiate with the man and de-escalate the situation, officers shot him, Ahern said. No officers were wounded.

The man was brought to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead, Ahern said. He hasn’t been identified.

A 78-year-old man taken hostage suffered a gunshot wound to the shoulder, Ahern said. He and the wounded woman were both taken to Christ Medical Center in critical condition.

A revolver was recovered at the scene, according to Ahern, who posted a photograph of the gun on Twitter.

Officers had been initially called to a domestic disturbance, according to the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, the agency that probes officer shootings.

Officer body-cameras captured the initial interaction between the suspect and responding officers, but the SWAT members did not have body cameras and the fatal shooting was captured only partially by a Chicago police officer’s body worn camera, COPA said.

The officers involved in the shooting will be placed on administrative duties for at least 30 days, per departmental policy.

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Sam Lafferty, a pending unrestricted free agent, is likely to stay with the Blackhawks this summer.

Both Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson and Lafferty himself sound eager to work out a new contract.

Said Davidson on Friday: “I think he can [fit into our future], for sure. He has been great. He has really impressed and fit in, and his style of play is endearing. It’s not dissimilar to the [Brandon] Hagel discussion, that that style of play is admired and coveted around the league. And so, as a UFA, he’s got the right to explore if he wishes. But I’d say we’d be interested in bringing Sam back.”

And said Lafferty on Sunday: “I’d love to come back. I love it here. It’s a really good fit. I love the city. I love the team, the organization — everything.”

The 27-year-old forward is currently finishing up a two-year contract with a $750,000 salary cap hit that he signed with the Penguins in 2020.

This will be his first time as a UFA –“I’m new to this,” he admitted Friday –and he hasn’t decided yet what length of term he’d prefer. He plans to leave most of the work to his agent, Pete Rutili. But he should be fairly affordable to re-sign regardless.

After all, he’d fallen out of favor with the Penguins and was acquirable just three months ago for the low cost of Alex Nylander, who has not yet made a single NHL appearance in Pittsburgh (he has tallied 23 points in 35 games for their AHL affiliate). Lafferty’s on-paper production — nine points in 44 games this season, including seven in 34 for the Hawks — is hardly eye-catching, either.

But his work ethic, forechecking ability and surprising deceptiveness have all stood out beyond the statistics, and he lately seems to make at least one beautiful play slicing through the opposing defense every game.

He’s a clearly underrated player with the potential for a breakout next season, which is exactly what the Hawks should be looking for at this early stage of their rebuild.

“I’m getting more comfortable in certain areas, like holding onto the puck a little longer,” he said. “My offensive game is growing. There’s a need here for that, and I hope to be able to build [on that] and help the team that way.”

He’s the most likely to return among the Hawks’ small UFA class, which also includes Calvin de Haan, Erik Gustafsson, Kevin Lankinen, Collin Delia and Kurtis Gabriel. Outside of possibly the two goalies, Lankinen and Delia, it’d be very surprising to see any of the others re-signed.

Meanwhile, the Hawks’ restricted free agent class –composed of Dylan Strome, Dominik Kubalik, Kirby Dach, Philipp Kurashev, Reese Johnson and Caleb Jones on the NHL roster, plus four more (including Wyatt Kalynuk) in the AHL –is far more interesting.

Strome, Kubalik, Johnson and Jones hold arbitration rights, which gives them additional leverage and will make Davidson a bit more wary of extending them qualifying offers. The arbitration angle of this –something that notably didn’t apply to Strome and Kubalik in 2020, the last time they were RFAs –is indeed not to be overlooked.

“It’s a really complicated thing when players have salary arbitration and [we have to guess] what that [salary award] number might look like,” Davidson said about Kubalik specifically. “And it’s even more complicated when that contract year was maybe not what it has been in the past.

“We’ll get into that with their agent and see where things land and try to determine if that fits the [Hawks’ preferred] financial structure.”

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GLENDALE, Ariz. — As expected, Lucas Giolito was named the White Sox starter for Opening Day Friday in Detroit. Sox manager Tony La Russa also said Monday that Dylan Cease will start the second game and Michael Kopech will start the third game of the season.

Lance Lynn, who would have been La Russa’s choice to start Friday, is having surgery on his right knee Tuesday and will be out at least eight weeks.

It will be Giolito’s third consecutive Opening Day start.

The Sox open at home next Tuesday against the Mariners after an off day. La Russa wouldn’t go deeper into naming his starters past the weekend, saying only that Dallas Keuchel would get the fourth or fifth game of the season. Giolito could pitch the fifth game on four days rest, but pushing starters early in the season seems unnecessary.

Vince Velasquez, who starts against the Cubs today in the second to last Cactus League game, is a possibility, as is Reynaldo Lopez. But those two might be needed in relief with Kopech not expected to go deep in his first start. Kopech starts the Cactus League finale Tuesday but is slated for only three innings in his second start.

La Russa didn’t rule out using Kopech in relief in the first two games.

“We’re going to be very open minded,” La Russa said. “It’s a very different first two months for a lot of reasons.

“All hands on deck that first weekend.”

The three and a half week spring training means most pitchers go into the season with lighter buildups to the regular season than usual.

Giolito will be equipped to throw 90 pitches, although he’s an exception.

“The most important thing, the work he did to get ready for this camp has really been impressive,” La Russa said. “He came in ready to pitch. That’s what you look for at the top of the rotation. Lance did the same thing. They came in ready, they’re accountable, it’s classic stuff.”

Lynn felt a pop and burning sensation throwing a pitch Saturday night in a game against the Diamondbacks.

On Sunday, the Sox announced that Lynn has a partial tear in a tendon in his right knee. He was on the injured list last September with right knee inflammation.

“You look at what I was dealing with at the end of last year, it’s in the exact same spot,” Lynn said Monday. “Sounds like it was going to go eventually anyways. Better now than at the end of the season and I’ll be ready for the playoffs.

“If we play our cards right, we can get back in the middle of season and make a run.”

Hopefully I should be ready in June or so if everything goes perfect.”

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GLENDALE, Ariz. — Lance Lynn was the likely candidate to be the White Sox’ Opening Day starter, but Lynn’s first start will have to wait about two months, the team learned Sunday.

Instead, Lucas Giolito will take the mound on Opening Day Friday in Detroit.

Lynn has a minor tear in a tendon in his right knee and will have a 30-minute procedure done Tuesday in Chicago that will keep him off a mound for about four weeks. He’ll need another four weeks to build up strength after that, the big blow coming a week before the season opener in Detroit to a team with World Series aspirations.

Manager Tony La Russa named Giolito the season-opening starter on Monday. This will be Giolito’s third consecutive Opening Day start. Dylan Cease and Michael Kopech will start the weekend games against the Tigers.

Reynaldo Lopez and Vince Velasquez will be asked to step up in a combination of starting and long-relief roles to shoulder some of the burden.

“Obviously, it’s unfortunate that we have to spend the first several weeks without Lance,” general manager Rick Hahn said. “It’s an opportunity for some of the other arms we’ll be carrying with the expanded roster to fill some of that void.

“It’s part of the game. We have a very deep and talented roster.”

La Russa said he had two Opening Day options in Lynn and Giolito but also said he knew who would start. Most indications pointed to Lynn. He also will be without prized lefty reliever Garrett Crochet, who is having Tommy John surgery Tuesday.

“It’s kind of the same as last year,” Giolito said of a team that lost Eloy Jimenez to a pectoral tear in spring training. “After we found out about Garrett, Tony addressed the clubhouse much in the same vein as Eloy last year. It always sucks, but that’s just how the game goes sometimes. And so the focus is on the here and now. We have a very good team. We have depth despite losing key players. So we just keep pushing forward, and we know that we are really good with what we have.”

Hopping on his left leg, limping toward the dugout and bending forward with both hands on his thighs, Lynn exited his last Cactus League start Saturday night against the Diamondbacks after 3,, innings and 79 pitches.

“I think he just landed wrong,” La Russa said. “Or it seemed like it.”

“This was the first time whatever was apparently ailing him gave and led to a tear,” Hahn said.

After the season, Hahn said Lynn “got treatment, and it was addressed various ways. And again, there was no tear at the time, so a surgical procedure wasn’t called for until this happened.”

With a shortened spring leading to the season, and with Kopech having only a two-inning start under his belt, the Sox — like all 30 teams — already faced concerns about pitching manpower with innings limits. Lynn’s injury only complicates matters and heightens the importance of Velasquez and Lopez as “backup” starters behind Giolito, Cease, Kopech and Dallas Keuchel.

The Sox have a heavy American League Central slate of games in April and May and play the Rays, Red Sox, Yankees and Cubs outside the division.

“All morning long, we’ve been talking about ‘what-ifs’ and how we would cover, and I just think that the priority is going to be the series you are playing,” La Russa said Sunday morning, uncertain at the moment of the severity of Lynn’s injury.

Starters are not expected to go much past four, five or six innings depending on pitch counts, La Russa said.

“It might rain tomorrow, snow the next day,” he said. “So we are going to ‘what-if,’ but the priority will be the first three games against Detroit.”

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The Bears are back to work after beginning their voluntary offseason workout program Monday.

By virtue of having a new head coach, the Bears are allowed to begin their program earlier than those with returning coaches. They are one of four teams starting workouts Monday. Others with new coaches, such as the Vikings, opted to start next week.

The Bears can’t do any on-field work. Per NFL rules, they’re limited to strength and conditioning, meetings and rehab. Players and coaches will get to know each other, which is no small thing: the Bears replaced every single coordinator and position coach during the offseason.

Matt Eberflus’ new-coach status also allows him to host an additional voluntary veteran minicamp. He’ll hold it April 19-21 at Halas Hall.

The Bears will have OTAs for three weeks starting May 16 and a mandatory veteran minicamp starting June 14.

“We get to bring them in April 4, and we’re excited about that …” Eberflus said at last week’s NFL owner’s meetings. “What can the guys do? I know the first couple weeks we don’t get them –[to] put our hands on them — but after that we’ve got the voluntary minicamp and then you’ve got Phase 2 into OTAs.

“That’s a big piece of the evaluation of our roster — you know, what we’re going to bring in –and we’re certainly excited about that too as coaches. You look at the skill level of each guy and how can they fit and compete as you start putting in, laying your foundation, your foundational pieces for what you believe in. And that’s a key component. This nine weeks is a big part of that going into mandatory minicamp.”

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A young girl was among four hurt in a fire Monday morning in South Austin on the West Side.

Police and fire crews responded to the blaze on the first floor of an apartment complex in the 500 block of North Central Avenue just after midnight, Chicago police said.

The girl suffered burns and was taken to Stroger Hospital, where she was in “grave” condition, according to officials. Fire officials said the girl was 3, while police said she was 3 to 5.

A 53-year-old man was taken to West Suburban Hospital for smoke inhalation and was listed in fair condition, police said.

A woman, 83, suffered smoke inhalation and was taken to Loyola University Medical Center, where she was in serious condition, officials said.

A 57-year-old woman was taken to the same hospital for burns, authorities said. She was also listed in serious condition.

Further details weren’t immediately available.

A little over an hour later, an elderly man was hospitalized after a fire about five miles southeast inside a Lawndale house on the West Side.

Someone smelled smoke from inside of the home in the1800 block of South Hamlin Avenueabout 1:30 a.m., police said.

Everyone inside made it out of the home and a man, 73, was taken to an area hospital as a precaution due to smoke inhalation, police said. He was listed in fair condition, officials said.

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A girl was among four hurt in a fire Monday morning in South Austin on the West Side.

Officers and fire officials responded to a fire that started on the first floor of an apartment complex in the 500 block of North Central Avenue just after midnight, Chicago police said.

The girl suffered from burns and was taken to Stroger Hospital, where she was in “grave” condition, according to officials. Fire officials said the girl was 3, while police said she was 3 to 5.

A 53-year-old man was taken to West Suburban Hospital for smoke inhalation and was listed in fair condition, police said.

A woman, 83, suffered from smoke inhalation and was taken to Loyola University Medical Center, where she was in serious condition, officials said.

A 57-year-old woman was taken to the same hospital for burns, authorities said. She was also listed in serious condition.

A 53-year-old man was taken to West Suburban Hospital, also for smoke inhalation, and was listed in fair condition, police said.

Further details weren’t immediately available.

A little over an hour later, an elderly man was hospitalized after a fire about five miles southeast inside a Lawndale house on the West Side.

Someone smelled smoke from inside of the home in the 1800 block of South Hamlin Avenue about 1:30 a.m., police said.

Everyone inside made it out of the home and a man, 73, was taken to an area hospital as a precaution due to smoke inhalation, police said. He was listed in fair condition, officials said.

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Anyone who’s taken on a building renovation and gotten in too deep can sympathize with Jerald Gary.

He’s been in that situation to the extreme since at least 2014 when he got control of the Avalon Regal Theater, 1641 E. 79th St. The place is magnificent, a Chicago landmark for its Middle Eastern-influenced design and its history with African American entertainers, but it’s been unused for years and has fallen into disrepair. Every system and decoration needs repair, replacement or cleaning if the theater is to host performances again. Gary has dealt with building code violations and there’s a pending court case involving repair of the facade, which the city regards as an urgent matter.

In short, there are huge costs in plain sight and more hidden in every wall, parapet and minaret. Give Gary his due, though. When he led a tour of the theater in September, it was clear he loves the building perhaps more than reason should allow. He’s provided stop-gap repairs and tried to find financial backers. Back then, he estimated it would take $10 million to make the theater shipshape. While he has some connections and a banking background, he doesn’t have that money at hand. In 2018, the rapper Ye, known then as Kanye West, pledged $1 million to support Gary. Ye said the theater, often called just the Regal, was a cultural monument like Harlem’s Apollo. But it’s not known how much money, if any, he has given.

Gary has intimated that “big news” from Ye is just around the corner. But right now, the news involving the property is that Gary stands to lose it if he doesn’t act quickly. He hasn’t paid property taxes on the Avalon Regal. Records show he owes at least $210,000 dating from 2013, not including interest the county charges on late payments. The Cook County Land Bank Authority put a no-cash bid on the property, giving it a lien that entitles it to ownership if Gary doesn’t settle the debt in six months. It’s what the land bank was created to do — take control of problem properties and wipe out the tax debt so a new owner gets clear title. Gary did not return calls last week.

The city of Chicago is involved too. The Avalon Regal could be the first application of an ordinance sponsored by the mayor that the City Council passed on March 23. It allows the city’s planning and housing commissioners to deal directly with the county land bank, acquiring its properties for little more than administrative costs.

Eleanor Gorski, executive director of the land bank and a former planner at City Hall, said the ordinance figured in her agency’s action. “This is on behalf of the City of Chicago. They do have some plans that involve repositioning the theater and the lots around it,” she said. Peter Strazzabosco, spokesman for the planning department, said if the city gets the property, it would probably offer it in a public request for proposals, with all comers welcome. It would fit the mayor’s Invest South/West program, which includes South Shore and the 79th Street strip as a target area.

But does someone have an inside track? Barely three blocks from the theater is where developers plan a $60 million film studio complex. The project at 7731 S. South Chicago Ave. got approved last year with strong community support. It’s from Regal Mile Studios, run by Hollywood producer Derek Dudley and with backers that include Chicago investment banker James Reynolds Jr.

Despite the name, the studio venture has no stake in the Avalon Regal — yet. Sources said there was an offer but no deal.

The website for Dudley’s project explicitly connects it to the theater and to a revival along 79th Street. The main photo on its home page shows the theater’s mural that depicts Louis Armstrong, Count Basie and others who performed there. Susan Cronin, head of real estate at Reynolds’ investment firm, Loop Capital, said the theater “has been and is of interest” to the partnership and it will see how the lien process plays out.

Gorski and Strazzabosco said there is no understanding with the studio owners.

Owning a live stage would make sense for a studio venture betting on the popularity of streaming. The city, once it gets the theater, can be expected to be an eager seller and with a pocketful of subsidies. It already has committed $20 million in tax increment financing to redo the Congress Theater on the North Side.

As for Gary, he’s being elbowed aside. The tax lien makes it hard for him to get investors. Who would help him when they could just wait a few months and deal with the city?

Maybe with his preservation streak, he’ll find satisfaction one day paying his way into his beloved venue.

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