2. Otto Porter Jr., Small Forward
Since the nine-game mark of the regular season for the Chicago Bulls, the team was without Porter Jr. His supposed ankle/foot injury turned into a foot fracture that kept him out for what will likely be the bulk of the 2019-20 regular season.
That solid month of February the Bulls had last season can be directly attributed to the addition to OPJ from the Wizards at the trade deadline.
This is the second year in a row where the Bulls will be missing a wing due to a weird lower-body injury. Last year, it was shooting guard/wing Denzel Valentine that missed the entire season due to an ankle injury. This OPJ injury is working its way up to the point where he could miss the entire regular season.
Paxson does apparently expect Porter Jr. to be back in the lineup by the beginning of March, but that’s never a guarantee. This injury timeline has anything but clarity for Porter Jr. There was no clear recovery that was set at any point, beyond him maybe being re-evaluated come the All-Star Break.
What’s worst about the injury to OPJ was the fact that the wing depth is so thin for Boylen and the Bulls. Thanks to a recent rise of the play of second-year small forward Chandler Hutchison helped to salvage some production at the position for the team. But nothing can replace the two-way impact that OPJ makes for the Bulls when he’s healthy.