The Bulls decided to finally tell us some important news.
According to K.C. Johnson, head coach Jim Boylen told reporters today that Lauri Markkanen has been battling a sore oblique for two weeks! Yesterday, the team announced Markkanen didn’t participate in contact practice due to the soreness. At the time, this felt like a new injury, but now we know it’s been plaguing Markkanen since, basically, the start of the season (which might explain a lot).
We can’t be sure if there is any correlation here; although, I did think about the same moment as The Athletic’s Stephen Noh upon hearing this news. Markkanen had a brief absence from a November 1st game against the Detroit Pistons, and the medical staff was evaluating his side.
Markkanen had to leave the game temporarily on Nov. 1 to get his side checked out.https://t.co/dq7OVMYPNE
— Stephen Noh (@StephNoh) November 12, 2019
Anyway, yeah, this could certainly help to explain some of the troubling play we’ve seen from The Finnisher over these first 10 games.
Lauri's splits pre/post this game
5 games prior: 17.4p, 9.8r, 2.2a shooting 38.7/21.2/78.6 on 18.8 true shooting attempts
5 games after: 12.4p, 5r, 2a shooting 38.3/35.7/84.2 on 11.3 true shooting attempts https://t.co/UI8uNcZb7Q
— Will Gottlieb (@wontgottlieb) November 12, 2019
With that out of the way, the Bulls waiting this long to share the news is … troubling (and weird). After a number of bad performances, I’m sure many might feel – right or wrong – like this is more of an excuse than a legitimate concern. However, an oblique injury would definitely restrict Markkanen’s aggressiveness and could also greatly impact the feel of his shot. Hopefully, this describes the struggles we’ve seen thus far from the big man, and as the soreness fades, the real Markkanen shines.
Boylen even said it himself today (very simply), the Bulls need Markkanen back to his old form.
Jim Boylen: “We need Lauri Markkanen to be Lauri Markkanen.”
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) November 12, 2019
Ah, the wise words of a head coach.
Obviously, Markkanen has been healthy enough to appear in every game this season, but an earlier report of this sore oblique could have certainly helped lighten a large amount of criticism/skepticism he’s been receiving from fans and media (myself included).
For crying out loud, as Johnson points out, the Bulls have listed Wendell Carter Jr. on their injury report every game with a sprained left thumb despite him playing through it. Why not do the same for Markkanen?
I don’t necessarily think Markkanen is off the hook here, although it’s safe to assume this injury has contributed in some way to his bad showing.
With this soreness now apparently stretching two weeks, there is no telling when it might subside. At the end of the day, let’s just hope we gradually see a fresher looking Markkanen over these next handful of games.