When Patrick Williams was ruled out of Friday night’s game after taking a hard hit from Mitchell Robinson, Bulls fans knew things could be bad. But this? Oof. I did not see this coming.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Patrick Williams suffered a left wrist dislocation and will undergo surgery. The second-year forward is expected to miss the REST OF THE REGULAR SEASON.
Chicago Bulls forward Patrick Williams is expected to miss the rest of the regular season with a left wrist dislocation, source tells ESPN. He will undergo surgery soon.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 29, 2021
Williams suffered a perilunate dislocation, source tells ESPN. There's hope a timetable on a return could include the playoffs, but as Billy Donovan told reporters today, this is a "pretty significant wrist injury." https://t.co/yyBgDirBBE
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 29, 2021
What makes this all the more frustrating is the fact that it happened on a flagrant foul.
While I don’t necessarily think Mitchell Robinson was trying to cause intentional harm, it seemed like a relatively avoidable situation, as it was clear Robinson had no real shot at blocking the basketball.
Patrick Williams dunk attempt pic.twitter.com/qnBx85TtUr
— ✶ Ⓜ️𝕒𝕣𝕔𝕦𝕤 ▶️ ✶ (@_MarcusD3_) October 29, 2021
I also can’t help but feel absolutely awful for Williams, who had the potential for a strong season alongside this Bulls revamped starting lineup. He was set to play a pivotal defensive role in the frontcourt, and while this injury will now leave an undersized Chicago searching for answers, it will also take a full regular-seasons-worth of development away from such an intriguing young prospect.
Brutal.