The Chicago Bulls avoided a potential nightmare for the latter part of the season.
Despite the release Wednesday’s road win over the Indiana Pacers With a right hip injury and missing Thursday’s home game against the Los Angeles Clippers, guard Coby White is not expected to miss much time for the Bulls.
Coach Billy Donovan told reporters before Thursday’s game that White underwent an MRI after the team arrived in Chicago. Scans showed no significant damage that could lead to long-term absence. White was designated “questionable” for Thursday’s game due to hip soreness, but Donovan expressed optimism about the goalie’s early prognosis.
“All the footage came back relatively clean,” Donovan said. “He is suffering from discomfort and pain. It’s just a matter of how quickly he can get over it.
When White crashed to the ground — right leg spread, left knee bent beneath his body — in the final 10 seconds of Wednesday’s game in Indianapolis, the Bulls appeared to be facing disaster. Even Donovan thought White grabbed his knee in pain, a sign of an injury that could have derailed a stellar season that put White in the upper echelon of players considered for the Most Improved Player award.
But White managed to leave the field on his own, albeit with a serious limp. As his teammates joined him after an overtime victory a half-hour later, he joked as he moved gingerly around the locker room.
White is perhaps the most important player for the Bulls – he runs the point, averaging 19.5 points and 5.2 assists and leads the league with 2424.6 minutes played in 66 games. But that workload has also been taxing, especially since injuries to Zach LaVine and Patrick Williams have limited the depth of the roster.
The Bulls don’t know when White will return, although it could be as soon as Saturday against the Washington Wizards at the United Center. With 15 games remaining in the season after Thursday, the Bulls will have no choice but to rely on the guard for a high volume of minutes for the remainder of the regular season and playoffs.
Donovan noted that the injury will highlight how White must prepare in the offseason as he continues to meet higher expectations.
“For Coby, it was an eye-opening experience in many ways,” Donovan said. “He has an incredible threshold to fight. But coming into the season, I don’t know if he would have anticipated the number of minutes he got this year. … It’s part of his evolution as a player.
