NEWSLETTER
Billy Donovan hopped on 670 The Score’s Mully & Haugh Show on Wednesday morning and gave Bulls fans a pleasant surprise: Both Lauri Markkanen and Otto Porter Jr. are good bets to be back on the court when the second half kicks off tomorrow night (emphasis mine):
Today will be our first real full practice with the team. I think if things progress like they have progressed up until this point in time, I think there is a very very strong possibility both those guys are suiting up and playing tomorrow.
Well, that just made my Wednesday 100x better!
Markkanen has been sidelined for the Bulls last 13 games after injuring his shoulder in the Bulls 123-119 loss to the Orlando Magic on February 5th. The initial timeline listed Markkanen out for 2-to-4 weeks, and while the big man said he hoped to return on the earlier side of that estimate, his recovery process seems to have taken longer than expected. Meanwhile, Porter had been dealing with lower back issues since the Bulls four-game trip in January. The team ultimately decided to shut him down indefinitely to deal with the problem on February 3rd, and he has now missed the team’s last 15 games.
Markkanen’s potential return isn’t shocking when we considering the aforementioned timeline and that he was able to do some normal conditioning during his stint on the injury report. On the other hand, a return on Thursday for Porter would be pretty unexpected. While I know he has been out for quite some time, we have not received much on his all-around progress, and the team was clearly taking a very cautious approach to getting him back on the court. In fact, things with Porter appeared so up in the air, that rumors of a potential buyout between the two sides started to circulate.
I guess the real verdict will come tonight when Donovan said the team will hold their first post-All-Star practice. Markkanen and Porter both stayed in Chicago during the break to work out and take some contact, but a full team practice will be the best indicator of whether or not they are ready to roll.
If both do get the green light to return tomorrow, the Bulls will basically be at full health against a 76ers squad that will be without Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons before embarking on the 11th-toughest remaining schedule in the league.
The Bulls Will Dodge Joel Embiid *and* Ben Simmons in Their First Game Backhttps://t.co/9TXj8uXMt8
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) March 9, 2021
