Chicago Bulls Injury Update: Zach LaVine suffers thumb ligament tear; plans on playing through the injury
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Chicago Bulls' marquee guard Zach LaVine has suffered a minor ligament tear in his left thumb. However, the star guard plans to play through the pain, citing his team's undefeated start to the 2021-22 NBA regular season.
Bulls All-Star Zach LaVine has a small ligament tear in the thumb of his non-shooting hand but intends to play through the injury, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. It’s a matter of pain tolerance and LaVine wants to play as Chicago starts the season 4-0.
Even though this comes as a debilitating blow, Zach LaVine is somewhat fortunate that the injury is to his left hand rather than his right. This is mainly because a ligament rupture in his shooting thumb would have been a much more inconvenient obstacle to play through.
Zach LaVine is ELITE and don't let anyone tell you differently... https://t.co/IbBLNVDEjP
The 26-year-old has started off his regular season campaign with stunning numbers in 25.5 PPG, 5.3 RPG and 4.8 APG for the Bulls. He is shooting almost 50% from the field, 45% from downtown and over 95% from the charity stripe, to tip off a scorching hot shooting year.
How Zach LaVine's injury could affect Chicago Bulls' 4-0 start to the season
Despite hosting prominent names like DeMar DeRozan, Nikola Vucevic, Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso, the Chicago Bulls lineup still draws most of the scoring from Zach LaVine. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard recorded a career-year last season with 27.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5 assists pegamee, to bag his first ever NBA All-Star nod, and has since been the Bulls' leading man in all regards.
If this thumb injury flares up over time, the team could end up losing a dynamic entity on both ends of the floor, right when their schedule is starting to heat up.
Sweet dreams, Chicago! https://t.co/wA1CdVqd7B
Even though the Chicago Bulls are 4-0 to start the season, looking past the smokescreen tells you that their four victories against underwhelming squads like Detroit, New Orleans, and Toronto. These teams were further crippled as Cade Cunningham, Zion Williamson, and Pascal Siakam were sidelined due to injuries.
Next in line are the sturdy-looking New York Knicks, followed closely by Utah, Boston, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Golden State, and both L.A. teams. And losing their marquee guy when the big dogs come barking could result in the end of the Bulls' dreamy run so far.