NEWSLETTER
The Chicago Bulls shared on Wednesday that Zach LaVine will try to play through a recently acquired thumb injury. The All-Star told reporters after practice that he suffered a small tendon tear in his left thumb that equates to somewhere between a Grade 1 and Grade 2 sprain. He also said playing through the injury will be primarly about pain tolerance, as it appears team doctors see no risk of further injury with him on the floor.
LaVine only participated in portions of practice yesterday, and while he seems keen on playing tonight against the New York Knicks, it’s important to note that he remains listed as questionable on the latest injury report.
The good news is that NBC Sports Chicago’s Rob Schaefer did catch LaVine doing some extra work at morning shoot-around. LaVine could be seen working with teammate Patrick Williams as he looked to get shots off comfortably. We also could still catch a glimpse of a bandage on his left hand, which I think is safe to assume he will sport for tonight’s game.
Little 1-on-1 action between Zach LaVine and Patrick Williams at end of Bulls’ morning shootaround. LaVine still listed as questionable vs. Knicks with left thumb sprain pic.twitter.com/N4Sys0LwuU
— Rob Schaefer (@rob_schaef) October 28, 2021
While the injury report technically gives LaVine a 50-50 shot at playing tonight, I feel pretty confident he will get the greenlight. Not only is the matchup one of the most highly-anticipated of the early season, but LaVine has a history of playing through bumps and bruises.
With that said, we will have to keep a close eye on how comfortable LaVine looks. His shooting should not appear too out of sorts (injury is on the opposite hand), but his ballhandling could certainly be impacted by this injury. We already saw him have some trouble on Friday against the Raptors, so one can only hope he’s learned how to deal with the pain and possible lack of mobility over the past two games.
