In a pretty shocking turn of events, the Chicago Bulls have listed Derrick Jones Jr. as questionable for tonight’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The versatile forward has been sidelined since January 12th when he suffered a knee injury just seconds into a matchup with the Brooklyn Nets. Then, while rehabbing, a fluke accident caused him to break his finger while at the Advocate Center. The Bulls initially gave Jones Jr. a 6-8 week recovery timeline, and he is only nearing the three-week mark.
Now, to be sure, the team did also say in their initial release that there was a chance for him to return early if he could play with a protective splint. But this early? That would feel like a pretty big – and much-needed – surprise! Jones was averaging 6.3 points and 3.4 rebounds on 58.2 percent shooting from the field and 40.5 percent from the 3-point line in 31 games before the injuries put him on the sidelines.
Anyway, as NBC Sports Chicago’s Rob Schaefer notes, we should learn more from Billy Donovan before tonight’s game. We’ll keep our eye out for updates.
UPDATE
Um, wow! Out of nowhere, the Chicago Bulls have now named Derrick Jones Jr. available for tonight’s game. I guess the forward is planning to play with a protective splint around his finger. We’ll have to see how he looks, but there is no question this is great news for a Bulls team that has been so unlucky in recent weeks!
That escalated quickly: Bulls list Derrick Jones Jr. available.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) February 12, 2022
DJJ is 2.5 weeks into what was originally a 6-8 week timeline, but at time of injury there was talk of him possibly being able to return early and play with the finger splinted. We’ll find out more from Billy Donovan pregame
— Rob Schaefer (@rob_schaef) February 12, 2022