Lauri Markkanen of the Chicago Bulls, a First Team All-Rookie member last season after a strong 2017-18 campaign, has been shut down for the rest of the year after what sounds like deeply unsettling injury concerns. Markkanen was shut down for the remainder of the season earlier tonight after an episode of “rapid heart rate and fatigue” in a game against the Toronto Raptors.
UPDATE: Lauri Markkanen has been undergoing tests to determine the cause of an episode of a rapid heart rate & fatigue during the game in Toronto. Additional testing has been recommended and Markkanen will not return for the remainder of the season.
MORE: https://t.co/Wop8AgpmM7 pic.twitter.com/jlOZ0Bg8wx
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) March 28, 2019
Heart issues are one of the most dangerous problems an NBA player can have, as the stress they put on their bodies on a night in, night out basis is extreme – and having a heart that can’t handle the pressure is a recipe for disaster.
Many players have suffered serious heart ailment in their careers such as Jeff Green, Ronny Turiaf, Channing Frye, Etan Thomas, and Chris Wilcox, and it often takes a long time to recover. Sometimes the player is never the same.
According to recent reporting from Cody Westerlund, the Bulls reporter for 670 The Score, the decision to shut down Markkanen came after discussion with the team’s owners and General Managers:
Jim Boylen says the decision to shut down Lauri Markkanen involved a discussion with John Paxson, Gar Forman and Michael Reinsdorf after medical testing came back.
— Cody Westerlund (@CodyWesterlund) March 28, 2019
Another piece of reporting by Westerlund expressed the idea that the tests came back “positive:”
Jim Boylen confirms that #Bulls' Lauri Markkanen has been shut down for the rest of the season. His tests from fatigue episode came back "positive," Boylen said, but team wants to be "as cautious as we can these last 10 days."
— Cody Westerlund (@CodyWesterlund) March 28, 2019
Now, of course, in medical jargon, testing “positive” for something is almost always a bad thing, but Westerlund makes it clear that that is not how Jim Boylen is taking it, as the team wants to be “as cautious as possible over the next 10 days.”
This is a developing story, but let’s hope Lauri bounces back as soon as he’s fully healthy and this scary health concern is in the past.
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