Lauri Markkanen was ruled out for Monday's game against the Dallas Mavericks, but he's getting “close” to a return to the floor for the Chicago Bulls, head coach Jim Boylen told Cody Westerlund of 670TheScore. Markkanen has been out since Jan. 22 with a right pelvic stress reaction. He was initially ruled out for four-to-six weeks. Chicago has won just three of the 14 games without Markkanen.
Markkanen was assigned to the team's G-League affiliate on Monday, and apparently had a promising practice with the Windy City Bulls. He'll travel with the big league squad to Minnesota with the hopes of possibly suiting up in the Bulls' matchup with Timberwolves on Wednesday.
Before getting hurt, Markkanen was having a somewhat disappointing third season in the NBA. In 46 games, his scoring (15.0 PPG), shooting (42.4% FG, 34.4 3Pt%) and rebounding (6.5 RPG) numbers are all career lows.
Chicago has dealt with various injuries across the board. They'll be getting Otto Porter Jr. back for Monday night's game — his first appearance since early November due to a foot injury. The Bulls got their other young big man, Wendell Carter Jr., back on Saturday after an extended absence with an ankle injury that had put him in street clothes since Jan. 6. Of course, in line with how the Bulls 2019-20 season has gone, Zach LaVine will reportedly miss his first game of the year on Monday.
The Bulls (20-40) have lost nine of their past 10 games.
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