The Bulls got blown out for the second game in a row losing 138-96 to the Golden State Warriors. While losing like that on national television stung, it wasn’t the most concerning thing to come from that game. After just four minutes of action last night, LaVine pulled himself from the game. LaVine headed straight to the tunnel and to the locker room. This left fans all over completely terrified. LaVine is a core piece to this Bulls team and to have him leave abruptly is never a good sign. As the game continued it was reported that LaVine wouldn’t return. After the game, we were told he would be getting an MRI to assess the damage but it didn’t appear to be serious.
Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine will get an MRI on his left knee Saturday, but there's initial confidence that he hasn't suffered a serious injury, sources tell ESPN. It was described as "discomfort" and erring on side of caution with MRI tomorrow.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 15, 2022
This helped Bulls fans breathe a little easier. However, we have seen injuries in the past that didn’t seem serious at the time and ended up being season-ending. Well, LaVine had his MRI done today and the results are in.
Zach LaVine’s MRI is done.Initial read is that it showed no structural damage, per sources. As reported last night, LaVine has been playing through knee soreness the last couple weeks. It has flared up occasionally ever since his ACL surgery. Team/LaVine still discussing timeline
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) January 15, 2022
Everyone can take a deep breath as it doesn’t appear that anything serious occurred. LaVine is going to miss the team’s next two games for sure but it’s great to hear that this won’t be a long-term injury. The Bulls really need him on the floor, last night’s game showed that.
LaVine is the backbone of this team
There are a lot of good pieces on this Bulls team but LaVine is a very important piece. He can get hot offensively when the team desperately needs it and losing him for a significant period would be detrimental to this team. If last night’s game was any indication of what that would look like we have to be very grateful this injury is minor. LaVine is the team’s second-leading scorer and third when it comes to assists. He provides a significant portion of the team’s offense and his absence will be felt. Chicago forward DeMar DeRozan has taken on a major role for this team but LaVine has been a core piece to the Bulls since he arrived in 2017.
This news is huge for this team as they continue to try and hold the top spot in the East. They have some tough games ahead and will need LaVine back as soon as he can get back. This injury just means the rest of the team needs to step up and play even harder.
Time for the team to step up
The Bull’s next four games are going to be tough. Three of them are on the road against playoff teams. They will be down LaVine for guaranteed the next two road games and on top of that just recently lost forward Derrick Jones Jr. and still don’t have guard Alex Caruso back. Add another Bull to that list who was added to the injury list today in guard Lonzo Ball and this team is in a tough spot. This team has quite a few people missing but they won’t allow that to be their excuse.
As usual, Billy Donovan flatly rejected the theory that the Bulls are shorthanded. "There's enough for us to compete better than we did," he said.
Donovan did allude to potentially adjusting defensive coverages/responsibilities because of the different rotations/roles.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) January 15, 2022
The Bulls have a lot of playmakers and head coach Billy Donovan knows that. He won’t allow the team to use the excuse that they don’t have enough guys to compete. The team is back at it tonight in Boston and they will need to play hard and make up for the team’s back-to-back embarrassing losses. While I’m sure all players are going to be playing extremely hard I know of one for sure who will use those losses as motivation.
Time for DeRozan to take over
DeRozan has been the best player for the Bulls so far this season. He has been more than the team could have ever asked for. It’s now time for him to take over and lead this team during this tough patch. He has been around the league for quite a while and he can use that to help this young Bulls squad keep moving forward. He knows that they can use the last two losses as motivation and he seems ready to do just that.
DeMar DeRozan: "These two games should be all the motivation that we need to step up, play hard, play for one another. It's just another challenge we have to face. We can't complain about it. We can't whine about it. We can't look for extra help. It's on us."
— Rob Schaefer (@rob_schaef) January 15, 2022
Unlike Bulls teams of the past, they actually have players who won’t make excuses. They have leaders and those leaders are going to help carry the team until they can get back to full strength. DeRozan will need to keep everyone calm on the floor and get everyone in the right position to make plays. If the Bulls want to keep the top spot in the East it’s going to take some veteran leadership from DeRozan.
We will watch how everything unfolds in LaVine’s absence and we hope to see the Bulls remain in the top spot. Hopefully, LaVine will be back in the lineup when they return home on January 19th. Regardless we hope for a speedy recovery and for the Bulls to get back into their winning ways in Boston tonight.
