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It sure seems like Zach LaVine's surgically repaired left knee isn't 100 percent after all. The star shooting guard has been listed as questionable for the Chicago Bulls' opener against the Miami Heat on Wednesday due to injury management of his knee.
Bulls list Zach LaVine questionable for opener vs. Heat because of left knee injury management. Alex Caruso is probable with a left calf contusion. Lonzo Ball obviously is out.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) October 18, 2022
LaVine fought valiantly through persistent left knee pain last season, earning his second straight All-Star appearance while averaging 24.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game on stellar efficiency. Impressive as those numbers are, they pale in comparison to those he put up in 2020-21, and LaVine was clearly affected by discomfort in his knee during the Bulls' first-round playoff loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, even sitting out the final game of the series.
LaVine went under the knife in late May to address the issue, just over two months before signing a five-year, $215 million contract with the Bulls in free agency. Optimism stemming from those developments was palpable throughout the preseason, with LaVine appearing in three of his team's four exhibition games.
“I think that’s been the main thing, not having any aches and pains and being able to go out there and really play without any limitations in my own mind,” LaVine said last week, per Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. “Like, ‘OK, I can’t go left.’ Or, ‘I might not be able to dunk on this play.’ You’re not supposed to be thinking that way when you play basketball. I dealt with that a lot last year.”
It's unclear if LaVine has suffered a setback since then. Cautious injury management is typical for players of his caliber in the modern NBA, and it makes sense Chicago would be extra careful with LaVine's knee considering the lingering pain he suffered throughout last season and the massive financial commitment the team made to him in July.
LaVine's problems with his knee, remember, predate his tenure with the Bulls. Chicago traded for him in the 2017 offseason a few months after LaVine tore the ACL in his left knee while playing with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Bulls' hopes of competing toward the top of the Eastern Conference will be dashed if LaVine isn't healthy. Here's hoping his injury designation—the latest in a seemingly endless string of health woes for Chicago dating back to last season—for the opener isn't an indication of LaVine's nagging pain returning.
