Chicago Bulls big man Lauri Markkanen suffered an elbow injury that should force him to miss up to two months of action, per Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Chicago's Lauri Markkanen will miss up to two months with a high grade right elbow sprain.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 29, 2018
Markkanen is coming off a surprisingly good rookie season, emerging as the biggest piece the Bulls acquired in the Jimmy Butler blockbuster trade in the summer of 2017. The Finnish big man averaged 15.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game while canning 2.1 triples nightly.
His unexpected emergence was borne out of necessity as Nikola Mirotic, who was with the Bulls to begin last season, was forced to miss a lengthy period after a punching incident with Bobby Portis left him at a hospital bed. The Arizona product did not waste time in striking the opportunity at hand, ending up as a member of the All-Rookie first team.
Markkanen's injury will be critical as his bread-and-butter has been his accuracy from the outside. Without the 2017 lottery pick, the Bulls will have to expect more work from Zach LaVine and Jabari Parker to carry more offensive cudgels early.
Bobby Portis should see some more minutes as well, but the most intriguing prospect that could come out of this unfortunate event is rookie Wendell Carter Jr. The former Duke Blue Devil was one of the most impressive first-year players in the Las Vegas Summer League. Ironically, a potentially strong start for Carter could come at the expense of a fallen teammate, albeit temporarily, in Markkanen — something that the phenom from Finland also experienced last year with Mirotic's injury.
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