Barely a week into the NBA season, the Chicago Bulls are already juggling injury concerns.
Lonzo Ball is sidelined for at least 10 days with a sprained right wrist. Jalen Smith missed Wednesday’s win against the Orlando Magic with knee soreness. And now Zach LaVine (sprained left acromioclavicular joint) and Patrick Williams (right shoulder strain) are both questionable for Friday’s road game against the Brooklyn Nets (6:30 p.m., CHSN).
The Bulls were spared from a wave of major injuries that racked the NBA on Thursday — Magic star Paolo Banchero suffering a torn oblique Wednesday and CJ McCollum and Herb Jones suffering multiweek injuries that will greatly disrupt the New Orleans Pelicans. But the Bulls’ injury report grew large enough to raise short- and long-term concerns.
LaVine’s injury occurred in the first half of Wednesday’s game during an unexpected collision that partially dislocated his left shoulder. He underwent scans at halftime and was cleared to play the rest of the game, but LaVine said it was a uniquely painful hit, adding that he hadn’t felt that type of discomfort from a blow to the shoulder “since I played eighth grade football and had a stinger.”
The top priority this season for LaVine and the Bulls is for the guard to remain as healthy as possible. The Bulls rely heavily on his scoring, but this need goes beyond wins or losses. After a disastrous 2023-24 season filled with trade rumors, LaVine needs to rebuild his stock across the NBA. This is critical if the Bulls still want to move the two-time All-Star — either at the trade deadline or next summer — or decide to reignite a long-term partnership with the guard.
Another injury would be similarly devastating for Williams, whose 2023-24 season again was cut short after requiring left foot surgery. But the potential absence of Williams and Smith would throw into exaggerated focus the risk that the Bulls took by fielding such an undersized roster this season.
The Bulls were somewhat prepared to manage the loss of Smith in Wednesday’s game against the Magic, giving limited minutes to Adama Sanogo as a backup to center Nikola Vučević and playing Williams at the five. But without Williams, the Bulls don’t have a remote backup option to guard both oversized wings such as Banchero and classic bigs such as Giannis Antetokounmpo.
After surprising a few teams in the opening week of play, the growing list of injuries could knock the Bulls (3-2) off their current course to slide higher than expected in the Eastern Conference standings.
