The Chicago Bulls have nothing much to fight for this 2019-20 NBA season and it would be best to rest some of its stars. Injuries have been the story this season for the charges of head coach Jim Boylen and it appears there is no end in sight. The latest one to get sidelined is Zach LaVine. The 24-year-old has been performing well as of late before suffering a quadriceps strain.
LaVine missed the Bulls game against the Dallas Mavericks but Chicago managed to win. Despite the absence of the 6-foot-6 guard, Boylen got a bit of reprieve with Otto Porter Jr. back in action. Chicago totes a 21-40 win-loss record in the Eastern Conference and have little chances of making it to the next round. Hence, it may be best for LaVine to sit out the remainder of the season and allow his injury to heal up.
Left to watch his teammates is something he is not happy about. He reveals how he played through more painful things but knows he needs to think smart. Originally, the 13th overall pick of the 2014 NBA Draft thought he would only miss about a week, NBC Sports Chicago reported. But it appears the healing process will need more time than initially expected.
Hence, Boylen will need to turn to someone else to pick up the slack. Aside from Porter, there is also Wendell Carter Jr. who is back in harness. Lauri Markannen is another potential returnee but still needs to be re-evaluated. The Bulls face the Pacers this Friday, a team that is on a four-game winning run.
With LaVine out, the Bulls will miss his numbers. According to Basketball-Reference.com, the two-time NBA Slam Dunk champion averages 25.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 60 games. Those are big numbers to fill, meaning Boylen will likely need several players to make up for those lost numbers.
The Bulls will finish another disappointing season and will try to reconvene this summer. The fate of Boylen is up in the air and so are some players on the roster. In a report from The Athletic, LaVine could not hide his frustrations. He admits that something has to change if Chicago wants to turn things around.
"You’ve got to do something to get those wins and stop stockpiling (those) losses. I think there’s a lot of things that you’ve got to take into consideration and you’ve got to look at in the offseason,” LaVine said recently.
