Facing the Chicago Bulls three times already this season, the Philadelphia 76ers have yet to see their Eastern Conference competitor with their star Zach LaVine on the floor this year.
Since last month, LaVine has been dealing with a foot injury. He last played for the Bulls during their November 28 matchup against the Boston Celtics. In that matchup, LaVine checked in for 24 minutes. He accounted for just two points en route to a 27-point loss against the Celtics.
From that point on, LaVine has been out, missing 15 straight games. When the Sixers and the Bulls met for the third time on Tuesday night, LaVine was ruled out for the 16th time in a row.
In early December, LaVine received a re-evaluation of his foot. At the time, he was expected to remain in a recovery phase and would be re-evaluated in three to four weeks, according to reports. Ahead of Tuesday’s matchup against the Sixers, Bulls head coach Billy Donovan offered an update on the All-Star forward, who has been practicing with the Bulls’ G League affiliate.
“Very, very good. So far, he practiced with those guys (on Monday) and again (on Tuesday). All the reports I got is it went very, very well,” Donovan said of LaVine. “He responded well coming back in this morning, and we’ll see how he responds tomorrow. With the schedule of Windy City and them being in town, every practice is good. With our schedule, it’s hard to get him actual live reps playing against live bodies. This has been good for him to be back there.”
Prior to his absence, LaVine appeared in 18 games with the Bulls. During that first stretch, the veteran sharpshooter averaged 21 points, five rebounds, and three assists. He was knocking down 44 percent of his shots from the field and draining 34 percent of his threes.
During the LaVine-less stretch, the Bulls have gone 10-5. While they’ve found some success in his absence, they look forward to getting their star back soon. Will it be as soon as Friday? The team remains unsure at this time.
“I don’t want to rule it out,” Donovan said regarding LaVine’s status for Friday’s game. “I think the biggest thing, the part we’re most concerned about was when he started having to do all that cutting, like how are you responding? He responded well, so now we’ve gotten through that, and now he’s ramping up. I just don’t know from the medical staff how many days they want to see him because he’s been out 15,16,17 games. What do they feel is an adequate enough time for him to get his legs back underneath him and where they feel he’s got at least enough physical contact where they feel comfortable with him going back in and playing.”
The Bulls have a lot of question marks surrounding LaVine at this time. How he looks physically after missing over a month’s worth of games is a key concern. So is the veteran’s mentality after a shaky start to the year.
Throughout the offseason, LaVine was a rumored trade candidate out of Chicago. After a rough start to the 2023-2023 NBA season, the rumors grew louder. When asked about LaVine’s level of buy-in with the Bulls, Donovan didn’t seem concerned.
“He has always been [bought in],” the head coach said. “Whatever he can do to help the team win — that’s kind of been his mentality — always been.”
While the LaVine trade rumors have simmered down over the past month, the idea that he could get moved before the trade deadline hasn’t disappeared.
But barring any changes of scenery, LaVine is unlikely to face the Sixers during the regular season, as Tuesday’s game between the 76ers and the Bulls served as their final matchup this year.
