2) Chicago Bulls injury prone players who could be gone soon
Lauri Markkanen, Power Forward
The most notable injury problem for any key Bulls player of late was handed to the fourth-year power forward Lauri Markkanen. This seven-footer and former Arizona Wildcat is facing a big year since he’s in the midst of the final season of his rookie contract. The Bulls new front office regime didn’t hand Markkanen a contract extension last offseason, so he will be a restricted free agent this summer.
Markkanen did come out of the gates up and down this season. But after a few games that he missed last month due to a nagging injury issue and a breach of the league’s health and safety protocols. That paled in comparison to the potentially month-long hiatus that Markkanen could see from game action due to this latest shoulder injury.
There’s not a single season that Markkanen has played through in his four years in the NBA to date without some significant injury problem arising. Last season was actually the cleanest bill of health that Markkanen had to date, which could’ve largely been thanks to the shortened regular season in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
So far this season, Markkanen has played in 14 games for the Bulls (all of which he’s started in), averaging around 30 minutes on the floor per game. And he’s averaged 19.1 points per game, 6.1 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.4 blocks. Markkanen shot a very efficient 51.4 percent from the field, 39.6 percent from beyond the arc, and 84.4 percent from the free-throw line.
In slightly over a dozen games played this season, Markkanen is on pace to have his most productive and efficient campaign of his career thus far. Staying as healthy as he can the rest of the way will be the top priority.