A Cleveland Cavs starter was injured Wednesday
The Chicago Bulls need to win all the games they can until the team gets their complete starting lineup back on the court. Lonzo Ball’s return is still probably months away. Zach Lavine was ruled out with an injury for the Bulls’ opening game Wednesday. Fortunately for the Bulls, DeMar DeRozan had a Michael Jordan-esque performance that allowed the team to beat the Miami Heat on the road. The Bulls might have gotten another much-needed break on Wednesday after a Cleveland Cavs starter went down.
According to multiple reports, Cavs point guard Darius Garland sustained an eyelid laceration against the Toronto Raptors Wednesday. According to Chris Fedor with Cleveland.com, the Cavs didn’t look the same after Garland suffered the injury when he was smacked across the face by Gary Trent Jr. of the Raptors. It’s unclear when Garland can return.
“With Garland in the locker room for the final 28 minutes Wednesday night, Mitchell had to shoulder more of the offensive burden. Bickerstaff even used veteran backup point guard Raul Neto for two separate second-half stretches, trying to steal minutes so Mitchell could rest. It didn’t go well. The Cavs were outscored by eight points with Mitchell off the court in the second half, highlighting why Bickerstaff was committed to staggering his star guards and always having one on the court. With Garland out, that is no longer possible. Mitchell can’t play 48 minutes. Someone else will need to step up.
There’s no clarity yet on how much time Garland will miss. But everyone who saw him after the game, said his eye looked like it was in bad shape. So, the Cavs will wait and see how he recovers.
The Bulls need to take advantage of the Cleveland Cavs’ injury
The Bulls play back-to-back nights Friday and Saturday. They will play on the road against the Washington Wizards on Friday; then, they will have their home opener against the Cavs on Saturday. The Bulls need to take advantage of a shorthanded Cavs team to notch another win without Ball. A healthier Alex Caruso and Patrick Williams helped the Bulls Wednesday overcome a Heat team that made it to last year’s Eastern Conference Finals. Second-year guard Ayo Dosunmu looked sharp as well.
According to Rob Schaefer with NBC Sports, Bulls head coach Billy Donovan expects Lavine to play in some of the team’s hectic schedule to start the season. (The Bulls play seven games in 11 days.) But they want to ensure Lavine is healthy enough to play in the games he does compete in.
With Lavine needing to be eased into the regular season and Ball out, the Bulls will need to get all the wins they can for a run at the playoffs this year. If the Cleveland Cavs are down a starter in the home opener, this Bulls squad has enough talent on the roster to add another number to that win column.
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