Chicago Bulls: Exploring the best and worst-case scenarios for 2019-20
By Marc Sherman
Worst-case scenario
As reported by Darnell Mayberry, Wendell Carter Jr. suffered a left ankle injury in Chicago’s first practice session of training camp, he’s since been ruled as day-to-day. And on a more serious note, rookie center Daniel Gafford hyperextended his right elbow and will be re-evaluated.
Wendell Carter Jr. sprained his left ankle at practice today. Daniel Gaffor hyperextended his right elbow.
— Darnell Mayberry (@DarnellMayberry) October 1, 2019
The Bulls just can’t seem to avoid the injury bug. This dates all the way back to the devastating turning point in Derrick Rose’s career when he tore his ACL in Game 1 of the playoffs in Eastern Conference first round. Since then, Chicago has suffered from injuries to a myriad of valuable players. Such as Luol Deng, Joakim Noah, Derrick Rose(again and again), Kris Dunn, Lauri Markkanen, and Wendell Carter Jr.
Health and being on the court is of grave importance when trying to win games. One big reason why the Bulls struggled last season was due to injuries. Players missed a total of 276 games combined.
Jim Boylen and company played with 26 different starting lineups throughout the season. They, ultimately, struggled to find consistency amongst the starters and were severely lacking in quality depth. As a result, the Bulls finished the season with a 22-60 record.
Markkanen was featured in 52 games, LaVine played in 63, and Wendell Carter Jr. was sidelined for the season after 44 games. It’s hard to win games when the core players of your team fail to have a healthy season.
If this trend of injuries continues heading into the 2019-20 campaign, then the Bulls can forget about their playoff hopes. A team that has role players and G-League call-ups playing starter minutes will never be successful.
The worst-case scenario for Chicago is being plagued by injuries for another season and having their core group of guys never find any consistency with one another.