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Zach LaVine has been a key cog for the Chicago Bulls this season as this team looks to make an extended run in the playoffs. The 26-year-old has been dealing with a myriad of injuries throughout the course of the season and just recently, LaVine missed three games right before the All-Star break due to a lingering knee problem. As it turns out, LaVine has yet to fully recover from what has become quite a concerning injury.
Bulls head coach Billy Donovan has now spoken out about his star's knee problem. The 56-year-old shot-caller provided the details of how Chicago's medical team has been monitoring LaVine's injury as closely as possible:
“This is him,’’ Donovan said, via Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times. “The doctors feel that the most important thing is his health and everybody feeling comfortable with him. Obviously the group of people that were involved, they’re the best in the world, so everybody is very comfortable. The lubricant, the things that he had placed into his knee, was something to try and give him some relief from what he was experiencing.”
It sounds like LaVine will be playing through this injury for the remainder of the season. According to Donovan, it's not really the pain they're concerned with here. The biggest issue for LaVine and the Bulls is if the injury actually swells up:
“The biggest thing, and what people need to understand about this too, is he is not dealing with pain,” Donovan continued. “That’s not the issue. The issue is sometimes he gets some swelling, some stiffness and tightness in there, and he doesn’t feel like he has all the way his mobility, flexibility, explosiveness, that kind of stuff. [Monday] he feels much, much better than he did before he did this. Now the biggest question is going to be can he feel this way until the end of the year?’’
It is worth noting that LaVine was able to play in Chicago's back-to-back set on March 3 and 4. He looked really good too, which bodes well for his outlook for the rest of the season in terms of managing his injury.
Right now, however, coach Donovan still has some concerns about LaVine integrating himself with this new-look Bulls side given the injury layoffs he's been through over the course of the 2021-22 season:
“Zach is a really, really interesting guy because I think when people look at him or see him, and see his overall natural ability and talent, first at the core of who he is, he’s a really good team guy,’’ Donovan said. “So I think one of the things that’s happened in my opinion is him being out as much as he’s been out … He’s trying to figure out how does he now inject himself back into the group, where’s he kind of fitting in?”
At the end of the day, Donovan, his coaching staff, the Bulls organization, and Chicago fans know what LaVine is able to bring to the table. They all understand how important he will be in this team's push this season and right now, the Bulls just need Zach LaVine to be Zach LaVine:
“He’s got to get downhill and we’ve got to get to the free throw line more, put more pressure on that basket. That’s really important for us.
“We just need him to be who he is.’’
Chicago is in a deep hole right now, losing all of their last five games, including Monday's 121-106 loss to the Sixers. The Bulls need LaVine back at his best and they need that now.
