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Friday update: LaVine is out tonight against the Wizards, but he’s expected to make his season debut Saturday at home against the Cavaliers. The Bulls have been quite shady regarding this flare-up for LaVine, so the reality here is there simply won’t be much clarity surrounding his injury until the day’s injury report.
Thursday update: Bulls fans hoping for good news on LaVine’s injury are not going to be happy about this one. The guard is going to be sitting one leg of back-to-back sets for the near future, according to Billy Donovan. LaVine had a procedure over the summer to clean up this type of pain, but clearly that hasn’t worked as he’s still yet to take the floor this season. We’ll see if the Bulls are able to eventually get him back to 100%.
Wednesday update: Well, it turns out LaVine will not play in Wednesday’s game. That procedure to clean up the pain in his knee over the summer clearly hasn’t gone as well as planned, because that’s the reason he’s out tonight. The Bulls want to be cautious with their new max player and won’t risk him in Game 1 but this is somewhat embarrassing considering how optimistic everyone was about this procedure. LaVine might also be out for Friday’s game against the Wizards, and seems most likely to make his season debut at home Saturday against the Cavaliers.
Sources: Zach LaVine may also miss Friday's game vs. Wizards, with likelihood the two-time All-Star makes his season debut in Saturday's home opener vs. Cleveland. https://t.co/YdRRrgua5y
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 19, 2022
Chicago Bulls All-Star SG Zach LaVine is questionable to play in Wednesday night’s season opener vs. the Miami Heat. LaVine is already managing injuries this early in the season. He’s had multiple knee surgeries throughout his career and Chicago is likely going to proceed with caution for most of the season.
The Bulls are underdogs on the spread at +6.5 for the opener in Miami. The Bulls are also +205 on the moneyline on DraftKings Sportsbook. If LaVine is out, we should see that line shift in favor of the Heat even more. DeMar DeRozan and Ayo Dosunmu would need to pick things up in the backcourt. There would be more minutes for Goran Dragic and Alex Caruso off the bench. Chances are Caruso would end up starting at SG if LaVine is ruled out.