Bulls star Zach LaVine is expected to miss several games after entering the NBA’s health and safety protocols, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
Wojnarowski’s report comes on the heels of the Bulls’ PR department announcing that the team had to call off Thursday’s practice due to the protocols, per K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link). Since there’s an expectation that LaVine will miss multiple games, it sounds like he either came into close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 or registered a positive test himself.
It’s bad timing for the Bulls, who have lost four consecutive games – and 10 of their last 13 – as they attempt to hang onto a play-in spot in the Eastern Conference. The 22-32 club holds the No. 10 seed for now, but is just one game ahead of the Raptors and Wizards and two games ahead of the Cavaliers.
Assuming they’re not affected by the protocols, Tomas Satoransky, Coby White, Garrett Temple and Denzel Valentine are among the players who could see a bump in minutes with LaVine unavailable.
