NEWSLETTER
Head coach Billy Donovan – who has returned from a stint in the NBA’s Health and Safety Protocols – announced before Monday night’s game that Javonte Green would be sidelined for 2-4 weeks due to a groin injury.
Javonte Green has groin injury. He’ll be out 2-4 weeks, Donovan says
— Jamal Collier (@JamalCollier) January 3, 2022
Green, who missed Saturday’s matchup with the Wizards, has averaged 5.8 points with 4.2 rebounds per game. The Bulls have relied on his versatility immensely since a wrist injury knocked second-year starting power forward Patrick Williams out early in the season. Green has appeared in a total of 29 games, starting 18, and he’s averaged a career-high 22.2 minutes per contest.
The Bulls have proven they can evade trouble in the wake of injuries/stints in protocols, but this Green news still stings. Despite his 6’5″ frame, Green has been a revelation for a Bulls team that lacks frontcourt size. He has used his high-flying athletism and physical play to earn a defensive estimated plus-minus of +1.3, which ranks in the NBA’s 89th percentile, per Dunks & Threes. Likewise, on the offensive end, his energetic off-ball movement and offensive rebounding have fit in beautifully alongside a team of All-Star scorers.
Indeed, that’s what the Bulls will lose the most in Green: Someone who understands his role to a T on one of the best teams in the league. He has been a master of the dirty work, and I talked more about his overall value earlier this week:
Javonte Green Just Wants to Do the Little Things, And That’s All the Bulls Needhttps://t.co/nFzmqTZ2dh
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) December 30, 2021
The expectation now is for Alex Caruso and Derrick Jones Jr. to eat even more minutes in the coming weeks. The Bulls also have Alfonzo McKinnie back from the NBA’s Health and Safety Protocols, and he can hopefully use his floor-running and six-foot-eight frame to fill some of what’s lost with Green.
