The Chicago Bulls continue to deal with injury issues. When the team finally gets one player back and healthy, it loses another. The team's recent success has been determined by how many healthy players they have on the roster and this year will be no different. While Jimmy Butler prepares to make his return to the court, Pau Gasol and Derrick Rose could be out of action.
The Chicago Bulls are set to face the Toronto Raptors in an Eastern Conference matchup Monday night with playoff implications on the line. The Raptors are trying to make a run at the No. 1 seed while the Bulls are trying to remain in contention for the postseason. Chicago got good news over the weekend that Butler will be back, but it was followed with injuries updates to Gasol and Rose.
Butler will make his return on Monday after missing the past three games with a knee strain. He missed a month of action with the injury and then re-aggravated the issue upon his return against the Houston Rockets last week. The swingman took a trip down to see Dr. James Andrews to get a second opinion, but when news came back positive, Butler began to work towards getting back into action.
Rose is also expected to be back on the court Monday. The point guard has been dealing with a groin strain that has caused him to sit. The Bulls replaced him with Justin Holiday and got good results from reserve, but getting Rose back is necessary. Rose is listed as questionable for Monday night, but Hoiberg told the media that he will test things out in warmups and the team will make a call on whether or not he plays.
The return of Butler and potentially Rose is good news for the Bulls considering Gasol could miss the next stretch of games following a knee injury. Head coach Fred Hoiberg told the media that Gasol will not travel with the team after suffering a large amount of swelling to his knee. An MRI confirmed there was no structural damage to the issue, but the absence of Gasol is a huge hit to the Bulls' playoff chances.
"It's a tough blow. There's no doubt about it. Pau is a guy, especially with Derrick [Rose] out of the lineup that you can run your offense through. With the trip the way it is right now, we're still looking at some different options as far as the starting lineup is concerned," Hoiberg said.
The Bulls are approaching the now-or-never mark of their season when it comes to the playoffs. Every game is important in this final stretch and losing Gasol does not help the team in the standings. Hoiberg admits that he is frustrated with the amount of issues his team has had to deal with this season. The Bulls have had to overcome a lot of adversity, but it remains to be seen if it can continue. Hoiberg is stressing that everyone needs to toughen up in order to win.
"You just try to keep their morale up," Hoiberg said. "We're dealing with a lot of injuries and adversity. You can't feel sorry for yourselves."
