Chicago Bulls center Wendell Carter Jr. has been dealing with a pair of injuries: a thumb and a knee. Though his knee seems to be on the mend, the former No. 7 overall pick will be listed as day-to-day with a sprained thumb, according to an official report from the team.
“Wendell has a sprained left thumb. His knee came through clear and feels good today. He is OUT for tonight and day-to-day.” Coach Boylen
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) January 17, 2019
Carter has already been ruled out of Thursday night's game against the Denver Nuggets. MRI scans that were taken on his knee came back clean, but those that were performed on his thumb revealed a sprain. He's slated to be re-evaluated on Friday.
Carter was a participant in Thursday morning's practice session, but he experienced a bit of pain in his thumb after hurting it in Tuesday's game against the Los Angeles Lakers. As a result, the Bulls decided to rule him out as a precautionary measure. The rookie is hoping to return Saturday against the Miami Heat.
With Carter out of commission, Bobby Portis will likely see an uptick in his usage rate and could start at center. Robin Lopez and Cristiano Felicio may also be asked to play more.
In his 44 appearances with the Bulls this season (all starts), Carter has racked up averages of 10.3 points on 48.5 percent shooting from the field (18.8 percent from beyond the arc), 7.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.3 blocks in 25.2 minutes per outing.
Thursday night's Bulls-Nuggets game is scheduled to tip inside the Pepsi Center at 9:00 p.m. ET.
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