Lauri Markkanen sustained an elbow injury that will cost him 6-8 weeks on the sideline. This could cost Lauri up to 19 games.
If the timeline of 6 to 8 weeks for Lauri Markkanen's recovery from a high-grade elbow sprain proves to be the case, he will miss between 12 to 19 games. #Bulls
— Cody Westerlund (@CodyWesterlund) September 29, 2018
Obviously, this is a huge blow to this young Bulls squad. Now, the Bulls will place to Bobby Portis in the starting lineup. Bobby is no stranger to the starting five, he’s had some reps there in his career. In 4 games as a starter last year, Portis put up 14.5PPG and 9.5RPG. Not bad at all, but Bulls fans wanted to see their young Finnish Superstar start the season healthy.
Also look for the Bulls to give minutes to Jabari Parker at the 4 as well.
What is truly upsetting about all this is the team will have to gel in the regular season now. The young guns came together two weeks before training camp started and have been working out together ever since. Strengthening the on-court chemistry is vital, especially for such a young core.
With this team being playoff hopeful, every player must step up to fill the void that Lauri Markkanen brings. If they can go just .500 in the games that he misses it would help this young team reach their ultimate goal. The playoffs.
