The Chicago Bulls and Zach LaVine have been a pleasant surprise so far this season. The Bulls are currently the third seed in the Eastern Conference (albeit extremely early) with a winning record of 3-2. Their .600 winning percentage is blowing their preseason win total prediction out of the water, and that is in large part due to the play of LaVine. The Chicago Bulls standings are now in jeopardy with the recent Bulls news about the Zach LaVine injury.
Two-Time NBA All-Star Suffers Injury Amid Comeback Season
Zach LaVine Injury
LaVine started his season healthy and playing well. In his first four games this season, he scored 22 or more in each game. In the Bulls’ most recent win against the Orlando Magic, LaVine only had 11 points but chipped in with ten rebounds. LaVine is averaging 23 points and 6.4 rebounds a game so far this season and is shooting over 50% from the field and 40% from three.
Zach LaVine through four games:
26 points per game on 69.8% true shooting
45.7% from three on 8.8 attempts per game
65.6% from two-point range
He’s all the way back to looking like a high-level off-ball scorer. pic.twitter.com/SAwqNp3s63— Ricky O’Donnell (@SBN_Ricky) October 29, 2024
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Right as things seemed to be going well for the Bulls, bad injury luck struck them once again. Reports just came out that LaVine, who was enjoying a bounce-back year after last season’s injury-riddled campaign, has suffered a partial dislocation of his shoulder.
LaVine is listed as questionable for the Bulls’ next game, however, with his injury history, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Bulls played it safe. LaVine spoke on the injury, saying he hopes to play in Friday’s game.
“I try to play through everything,” LaVine said.
The Bulls Injury Bug
Besides LaVine missing most of last season with injury, the Bulls have been dealing with injury issues to another one of their big names for a while now. Bulls guard Lonzo Ball continues to struggle with injuries. Ball signed on a four-year, $80 million deal with the Bulls, and the guard has only been able to play only 38 games for Chicago due to chronic knee issues. Now, Ball is facing another setback. News broke on Ball saying a right wrist sprain is expected to keep him out for at least 10 days.
So far this season, Ball’s minutes have been limited. He’s averaging 4.7 points on 35.7 percent shooting, 3.7 assists, and 2.7 rebounds in just 15.7 minutes per game, which is way below his career averages of 11.8 points, 6.2 assists, and 5.7 rebounds. Though the Bulls are off to a 3-2 start, Ball’s availability has been a bonus rather than a necessity. With Ball’s injury history, he remains a defensive asset but far from a core piece of Chicago’s rotation.
Josh Giddey was HOOPIN.
20 pts | 11 rebs | 5 ast | 6-11 FG | 4-4 from three pic.twitter.com/gXXXoAKpYs
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) October 31, 2024
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Bulls LaVine Injury Insurance
With LaVine potentially out and Ball shelved, someone on the Bulls depth chart will need to step up. Last season, Coby White and Nikola Vucevic led the Bulls offensively, and they are ready to pick up any touches left behind by a potential LaVine injury absence.
Bulls newcomer Josh Giddey could also be in line for more touches. Giddey has had a solid start to his tenure in Chicago, averaging 15.4 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 5.8 assists so far this season. All of these stats are improvements from his stats last year with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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