The Chicago Bulls will be without their backup big man against the Orlando Magic.
The team announced early during the first quarter of Wednesday night’s game that Jalen Smith will sit. The center is apparently dealing with left knee soreness. According to Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic, the issue popped up during pregame warm-ups.
The hope is that this is more precautionary than anything else. Smith already entered the night as questionable due to an ankle sprain, so the medical staff may have wanted to act out of an abundance of caution with Smith expressing another problem.
At the same time, “knee soreness” is as ambiguous as an injury gets. While it could be a one-night issue, it could also be something that lingers. Let’s hope we get a better answer after the game, as Smith was off to a pretty strong start in his Bulls career. The big man scored 16 points and 7 rebounds in under 12 minutes to help the Bulls’ comeback against the Memphis Grizzlies earlier this week.
How the Bulls will manage without Jalen Smith will be interesting. Will Patrick Williams man minutes at the five? Could Adama Sanogo be in store for some playing time? Would they give the six-foot-ten Matas Buzelis a try? Let’s see how Billy Donovan tries to adjust.