Chicago Bulls

Current Record: 28-16, Last 10: 4-6

This season has been a huge success for the Chicago Bulls already with them sitting at the top of the Eastern Conference standings at 28-16, but the job is far from finished for this group. 

DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic make up one of the league’s best scoring trios, but LaVine suffered a left knee injury on Jan. 14 and has missed the Bulls’ last four games. 

The team is not too concerned about LaVine’s injury as it pertains to possibly being long-term and head coach Billy Donovan ushered his reassurance on Friday, telling the media that his All-Star’s knee injury has responded well to treatment so far. 

Zach LaVine is not the only Chicago Bulls player out with an injury right now, directly contributing to this team’s lack of success the last week or so. 

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Alex Caruso recently returned after not playing since Dec. 20 and while Caruso being back is a huge lift to the Bulls’ second-unit, they are now going to be without Lonzo Ball for at least two months. 

Ball underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee to repair a meniscus tear and the team said he is expected to miss the next 6-8 weeks. This is a big blow to not only Lonzo Ball, but to Chicago as well because he has been having a career-year with the Bulls. 

In 35 games this season, Ball has averaged 13.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.8 steals (career-high) and has shot 42.3% from the floor (career-high) and 42.3% from three-point range (career-high). 

Along with LaVine and Ball being sidelined, Javonte Green (groin), Derrick Jones Jr. (knee) and Patrick Williams (wrist) have missed time for the Chicago Bulls. 

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Injuries continue to pile up for the Chicago Bulls this season and while they are one of the best teams in the league at full-strength, it still seems like they are missing something. Patrick Williams went down with a wrist injury early on in the season and had surgery, leaving Chicago extremely thin on the wing in terms of two-way talent. 

The Chicago Bulls do not have much cap space to work with, but they are expected to examine their roster ahead of the trade deadline and possibly pursue another factor on the wing. Defense is the main concern for this team with Lonzo Ball and Patrick Williams being out long-term now, which is why they could target a well-known two-way threat ahead of the deadline in February.