Chicago Bulls: Wendell Carter Jr. could be close to return from injury

What would be absolutely fantastic news for first-year head coach Billy Donovan and the Chicago Bulls would be getting the likes of third-year former Duke Blue Devils center Wendell Carter Jr. back in the rotation sooner than originally anticipated. WCJ injured his quad a few weeks back, and has only played in just over a dozen regular season games for the Bulls so far.

Donovan and the Bulls were very shorthanded in their frontcourt rotation over the course of the last few weeks. Missing both WCJ and fourth-year power forward Lauri Markkanen simultaneously hurt both the effectiveness of the starting frontcourt and the depth among the big men as a whole.

According to a report from K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago on the early afternoon of Feb. 14, the Bulls could get WCJ to return to the lineup “earlier than expected”. He reportedly went through a full practice for the Bulls on Feb. 14, which is great news for his recovery timeline.

Chicago Bulls’ injury update for WCJ

Here’s more on what this piece from NBC Sports Chicago had to say on the matter.

"Instead, less than three weeks from those test results, Carter took contact and participated in the Bulls’ practice that even featured 5-on-5 work.“I thought it was a step in the right direction that he was able to complete everything,” Donovan said. “He has certainly made some progress.”The Bulls left Sunday afternoon for a three-game trip that begins Monday against the Pacers. They play the Hornets on Wednesday and 76ers on Friday. Their only back-to-back set of games concludes Saturday when they return home to face the Kings."

It sounds like the Bulls will work WCJ back into the rotation slowly, and he could be back later in their current three-game road trip they’re about to embark on. The first meeting in this road trip for the Bulls comes against the divisional foe Indiana Pacers on the night of Feb. 15.

The last game that WCJ played in for the Bulls came back on Jan. 18, in a big home win at the United Center over the Houston Rockets. It is good news that he could be back before the end of this month given the original timeline for his recovery which made it looks like he could miss at least one month of game action.

In the 14 games that WCJ has played in for the Bulls so far this season (all of which he’s started in), he’s averaged around 27 minutes on the floor per game. And he’s averaged 12.8 points per game, 8.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.6 blocks. WCJ shot 53.3 percent from the field, 26.7 percent from beyond the arc, and 72.6 percent from the free-throw line.

The last game that the Bulls played in resulted in a sizable 125-106 loss to superstar forward Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers at home back on Feb. 12. The Bulls now boast a record of 10-15 following their loss to the Clippers entering the weekend.