NEWSLETTER
Who’s ready for some good news? Double-time, actually. Let’s start with Zach LaVine.
Head coach Billy Donovan provided some highly anticipated news before tonight’s battle with the Sacramento Kings, announcing that LaVine’s visit with a specialist for his injured knee went “very well.” The All-Star has been cleared to participate fully in this weekend’s All-Star festivities, and he is expected to rejoin the team on the court after this week-long break.
Billy Donovan gave an update on Zach LaVine's visit with a knee specialist: "It went very well." pic.twitter.com/mrTrsMxXTp
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) February 16, 2022
More specifically, Donovan shared with reporters that LaVine had some fluid drained from his knee and can resume basketball activities over the next 48 hours.
He also said the All-Star reserve will speak with team doctors about how to approach his minutes moving forward. While I’m sure LaVine is willing to carry as strenuous of a workload as possible, there is no question he and his star teammates deserve a lighter load. Injuries have forced them to play significant minutes over the past several weeks, and it’s hard not to think some of it has added to LaVine’s recent discomfort.
Anyway, it’s time to breathe. This is about the best update we could have gotten considering the circumstances, and it sure feels refreshing to finally get some good injury news for once.
But I promised you two bits of good news, so how about this? Alex Caruso is making his way back!
Alex Caruso could be cleared to resume shooting and dribbling in the next 7-10 days, per Billy Donovan
— Jamal Collier (@JamalCollier) February 16, 2022
Caruso has been out since the last week in January, when Grayson Allen’s hard (and suspension-worthy) foul on a fast-break resulted in a fractured wrist — a fracture that required surgery, no less. With Lonzo Ball also out at the moment, the Bulls defense has suffered without Caruso in there on a nightly basis. Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu have picked up some of the rotational guard duties/slack (especially Ayo on defense), but there’s no replacing Caruso’s intensity and overall defensive skillset. That’s especially true for a team that thrives in transition. Hopefully, if he starts doing on-ball work again over the next 7-10 days, he could come back closer to the front-end of his original 6-to-8 week estimate.
After tonight, the Bulls’ next contest isn’t until a week from tomorrow, which is good news, all things considered. But let’s not get too excited. The Bulls are set to face the Hawks (27-30), Grizzlies (41-18), Heat (37-21), and Hawks again coming out of the break, and the end of the stretch aligns with the most optimistic timeline for a potential Caruso return. Chances are, the Bulls will still be without him for at least a handful of games. Still, better news than no news or bad news at this point.
Michael Cerami contributed to this post.
