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Chicago Bulls point guard Lonzo Ball will not return for the remainder of the season, the team announced Wednesday.

Ball, who has not played since Jan. 14, had surgery on his left knee on Jan. 28 to repair a slight meniscus tear. The team said he is still experiencing pain “with high-level physical activity.”

He has remained sidelined longer than the initial timeline for his return when his knee did not respond to the rehab process. Chicago pulled back the ramp-up process for 10 days at the end of March with “hope” the extra rest would allow him to recover, but Ball experienced a setback.

The Bulls on Wednesday said Ball, 24, will continue daily treatment and rehabilitation in preparation for the 2022-23 season.

Despite Tuesday’s loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, the Bulls clinched their first playoff berth since 2017 after the Cleveland Cavaliers lost to the Orlando Magic. They are in sixth place in the East, one game behind the Toronto Raptors.

In his first season in Chicago, Ball was averaging 13.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists. He has played in just 35 games, which would be the fewest of any season in his five-year career.

The Bulls will host the Boston Celtics on Wednesday in Chicago.

ESPN’s Jamal Collier contributed to this report.

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The Chicago White Sox will be without ace pitcher Lance Lynn for at least eight weeks. Lynn needs surgery to repair a slight tendon tear in his right knee.

That means the Sox will be without one of their aces for the season’s first two months. Lynn was outstanding last season after being acquired in a trade with the Texas Rangers. He posted an 11-6 record with a 2.69 ERA in 2021.

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As the NBA’s 2021-22 regular season draws to a conclusion on April 10, teams near the middle of the standings are battling for postseason seeding with a special focus on the league’s play-in tournament.

Held before the first round of the 2022 NBA playoffs, the play-in tournament adds an exciting wrinkle to the end of the regular season. Teams were already less incentivized to tank games down the stretch because of the flattened lottery odds instituted in 2019. Now that the top 10 teams in the standings will finish the regular season with at least a chance to make the playoffs, more franchises will stay in the mix for longer.

The play-in tournament will be held April 12-15.

Here’s everything you need to know about the setup this season.

MORE: Current NBA standings

How the play-in race is shaping up

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Entering Wednesday, here’s how the play-in standings look in the East:

7. Cleveland Cavaliers: 43-37, 1 1/2 games ahead of eighth
8. Brooklyn Nets, 41-38, 1 1/2 games back
9. Atlanta Hawks, 41-38, 1 1/2 GB
10. Charlotte Hornets: 40-39, 2 1/2 GB

The four play-in teams in the East are set. All that is left to be determined is the seeding. The Nets are currently listed as the 8-seed over the Hawks because of the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Here’s how the play-in games would look if the season ended today:

No. 8 Nets at No. 7 Cavaliers

No. 10 Hornets at No. 9 Hawks

Here are Wednesday games with the potential to impact the play-in standings in the East:

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Entering Wednesday, here’s how the play-in standings look in the West:

6. Denver Nuggets: 47-33, 2 games ahead of seventh
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7. Minnesota Timberwolves: 45-35, 2 games back of sixth
8. LA Clippers: 39-40 (clinched 8-seed)
9. New Orleans Pelicans: 35-44, 1 game ahead of 10th
10. San Antonio Spurs: 34-45, 1 GB

The next Nuggets win or Timberwolves loss will lock Minnesota into the 7-seed entering the play-in tournament. The Pelicans have clinched a spot in the play-in. The next Spurs win or Lakers loss will eliminate the Lakers from play-in contention.

Here’s how the play-in games would look if the season ended today:

No. 8 Clippers at No. 7 Timberwolves

No. 10 Spurs at No. 9 Pelicans

There are no games Wednesday with the potential to impact the play-in standings in the West.

MORE: Full NBA schedule

How does the NBA play-in tournament work?

There will be six total games involving eight teams as part of the play-in tournament, split up between the two conferences.

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The teams that finish Nos. 1-6 in each conference will be guaranteed playoff spots, while team Nos. 7-10 in the standings will enter the play-in. Any team that finishes worse than No. 10 will be in the lottery.

Here’s how the games will work:

Game 1: The No. 7 team in the standings by winning percentage will host the No. 8 team, with the winner earning the No. 7 seed in the playoffs. The losing team gets another chance in Game 3.

Game 2: The No. 9 team will host the No. 10 team, with the winner moving on to Game 3. The loser is eliminated and enters the NBA draft lottery.

Game 3: The loser of the No. 7 vs. No. 8 matchup will host the winner of the No. 9 vs. No. 10 matchup, with the victor grabbing the No. 8 seed in the postseason. The loser of Game 3 also enters the lottery.

This means that the teams with the seventh-highest and eighth-highest winning percentages will have two opportunities to win one game to earn a playoff spot, while the teams with the ninth-highest and 10th-highest winning percentages need to win two straight games to advance.

What’s next after the play-in?

Once the play-in winners, seeded No. 7 and No. 8 from each conference advance, the 2022 NBA playoffs will begin on April 16. Game 1 of the NBA Finals is June 2.

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CHICAGO — Milwaukee Bucks guard Grayson Allen found himself in the middle of yet another controversial foul call during a game against the Chicago Bulls, when Allen got knocked to the floor while driving to the basket in the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s 127-106 victory after a hard foul from Bulls center Nikola Vucevic.

Vucevic, who was fouled from behind by Bucks center Brook Lopez on the play, received a dead ball technical foul for the contact on Allen after a replay review.

However, Vucevic maintained after the game that he did not intend to target or foul Allen, who has been the subject of ire for Chicago fans ever since a flagrant foul 2 on Bulls guard Alex Caruso in January resulted in a fractured right wrist for Caruso.

“My intention wasn’t to foul or injure him or anything,” Vucevic said after the game. “I got pushed a little bit, and as I tried to go and swipe at the ball, I think it just looked worse in the moment. When you look at the replay, it’s not even that bad. I don’t even understand why I got a tech for it.”

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Knowing the history between the two teams, Vucevic said he spoke to Allen and a few Bucks players on the floor after the play to clear up his intentions.

“I didn’t make anything of it,” Allen said. “I honestly didn’t hear the whistle and I don’t think he heard the whistle either. I had the ball in my left hand, so I think he was coming across my body to make a play on the ball.”

Allen was also on the receiving end of a hard foul the last time these two teams played in Chicago last month, when Bulls forward Derrick Jones Jr. delivered a hip check and hit Allen in the face with his elbow while trying to defend him driving to the basket. Although Jones said he was simply trying to “get a stop,” he received a flagrant foul 1.

On Tuesday, Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said he believed Vucevic should have received at least a flagrant foul as well.

“Yeah, I think it crossed the line,” Budenholzer said. “The refs thought it was not enough to be flagrant. … Basically said they looked at it 4-5 times. He didn’t think there was a windup. He didn’t think [it met] whatever the criteria was.”

As they did the last time the Bucks were in town, Bulls fans continued to boo Allen every time he touched the ball Tuesday. When Vucevic’s foul sent Allen to the floor, the crowd erupted in celebration.

The Bulls clinched their first playoff berth since the 2016-17 season on Tuesday thanks to a Cleveland Cavaliers loss, while the Bucks’ victory gave them the same record as both the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers. Because of tiebreakers, the Bucks are currently the No. 3 seed in the East and the Bulls are the No. 6 seed, which means if the standings hold, they would meet in the first round of the playoffs.

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Gene Shue, a two-time NBA Coach of the Year who won 784 games with the Bullets, 76ers and Clippers, has died. He was 90.

A five-time All-Star as a player for the Pistons, Shue went on to coach for more than two decades. He took the Baltimore Bullets to the NBA Finals in 1971, then did the same with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1977. He is still the record holder for the Washington-Baltimore franchise with 522 victories.

The Wizards and the NBA announced Shue’s death Monday.

“Gene dedicated his life to the game and left an indelible mark as a player, head coach and executive,” the league said.

Shue played collegiately at Maryland, where he was named the top player at the Southern Conference tournament in 1953, then earned All-ACC honors the following year after the Terrapins joined that league. He was taken with the No. 3 pick in the 1954 draft by the Philadelphia Warriors.

His five All-Star selections came as a member of the Detroit Pistons, and he played a decade in the NBA before transitioning to coaching. He took over the Bullets in 1966 and he was named Coach of the Year in 1968-69 when the team went 57-25. In 1971, Baltimore reached the Finals before losing to Milwaukee.

“We are saddened by the passing of former Bullets head coach Gene Shue, a Baltimore native and the winningest coach in franchise history,” the Wizards said.

Shue resigned after the 1972-73 season, then took over the 76ers. Philadelphia reached the Finals in 1977 but lost in six games to Portland.

Shue was fired by the 76ers early the following season and ended up with the San Diego Clippers from 1978-80. When the NBA adopted the 3-pointer in the 1979-80 season, the Clippers led the league in both attempts and field goals from long distance.

Shue’s second stint with the Bullets began in 1980, and he took them to the playoffs three more times before being fired in March 1986. His second Coach of the Year award came in 1982.

He went back to the Clippers for his final coaching stop, then became general manager of the 76ers in 1990 and served until 1992.

Shue was inducted into University of Maryland’s Hall of Fame in 1991.

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CHICAGO — After another setback while ramping up the rehab of his left knee, there is increasing pessimism that Chicago Bulls point guard Lonzo Ball will return to the lineup this season, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

No final decision has been made, but a meeting in the coming days expected to include Bulls officials and Ball’s representatives at Klutch Sports is increasingly likely to culminate with the shutting down of Ball for the rest of the season, sources said.

“I would imagine in the next day or two we’ll probably have a little bit more once everybody sits down and talks,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said before Tuesday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks. “It’s disappointing from the standpoint you were hoping that the time he had off would help maybe propel him going forward to do a little bit more. But that certainly hasn’t been the case.”

The Bulls play Tuesday night against the Bucks and then have three games left in the regular season.

Ball, who has not played since Jan. 14, had surgery on his knee in January to repair a slight meniscus tear.

He has remained sidelined longer than the team’s initial timeline for his return when his knee did not respond to the rehab process. Chicago pulled back the ramp-up process for 10 days at the end of March with hope the extra rest would allow him to recover, but Ball experienced a setback.

Donovan declined to speculate whether the team would be comfortable having Ball play in the postseason if he didn’t return during the regular season. He said the team was focused on getting Ball to stop experiencing pain in the knee.

“I think the biggest thing they’re trying to figure out before we can do anything is try to eliminate his discomfort and any pain that he’s feeling,” Donovan said. “This period of taking some time off, letting it calm down and trying to get him back started again, there was a hope that maybe it would help, and it probably hasn’t helped as much as we would’ve liked to.”

In his first season in Chicago, Ball was averaging 13.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists. He has played in just 35 games, which would be the fewest of any season in his five-year career.

“All these guys love to play and he wants to play,” Donovan said. “He is, like any player, disappointed, that he can’t be out there and it’s not progressing, but he’s dealt with it and taken it in stride and to his credit, he’s tried to do everything that he can do to get himself back feeling good.”

Chicago was also without guard Zach LaVine for Tuesday’s game with left knee soreness. The team has been managing LaVine’s knee injury for the past few weeks, especially on back-to-backs.

The Bulls host the Boston Celtics on Wednesday in Chicago.

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TAMPA, Fla — Newly acquired Detroit Tigers outfielder Austin Meadows is expected to be ready for Opening Day Friday against the Chicago White Sox after recently being slowed by an oblique injury.

Meadows, 26, was set to take part in a simulated game Wednesday.

Meadows, who had a career-high 106 RBIs last season, was acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night for infielder Isaac Paredes and a competitive balance round B pick in the 2022 draft.

Meadows’ younger brother, Parker, was selected by Detroit in the second round of the 2018 draft. He played for Class A Lakeland and Class A West Michigan last year.

The Tigers open at Comerica Park, ready to show off a roster boosted by offseason trades and free-agent signings.

Meadows hit .234 with 27 homers last season.

“He’s rarin’ to go,” Tigers manager AJ Hinch said before Tuesday’s spring training game against the New York Yankees. “Obviously it’s a shock for him because he’s going one camp to another last minute, but given his familiarity with the organization through his brother, I think he could be up and running pretty quickly.”

Meadows made the AL All-Star team in 2019, when he finished with a .291 batting average, 33 homers and 89 RBIs.

“I know we added a big bat at a really fun time as we get close to breaking camp,” Hinch said.

Detroit is much improved after going 77-85 last year in its fifth consecutive losing season. Meadows joins a lineup that includes star infielder Javier Baez, who signed with the Tigers in free agency, and Spencer Torkelson, one of the majors’ top slugging prospects.

Paredes, 23, can play second, third and shortstop. He batted .208 with a homer and five RBIs in 23 games with Detroit last season.

“We gave up some value as well,” Hinch said. “That was not a free trade. That definitely impacted the organization’s depth. What you want in these trades is both teams to get what they need and it sounds like we did.”

Game notes:
The Tigers agreed to terms with RHP Spencer Turnbull on a two-year deal to avoid arbitration. … RHPs Jacob Barnes, Will Vest and Drew Hutchison have been told that they made the Opening Day roster. … Hinch said the Tigers will start the season with 14 or 15 pitchers on the expanded 28-man roster.

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