Bad break for Boozer: Bulls forward out 8 weeks with hand injury
A week of rampant optimism at Bulls training camp came to an abrupt halt Sunday with news that Carlos Boozer suffered a broken bone in his right hand and will be sidelined eight weeks.
The veteran power forward will have surgery Tuesday and is expected to be out through the end of the November road trip, or roughly 15 regular-season games.
The explanation was an odd one, but Boozer gave a calm, thorough account of an accident that happened at his home on Saturday, when the Bulls did not practice.
"I was at my house, came around a corner, fell over a bag, put my arm down to try to brace myself," Boozer said Sunday at the Berto Center. "Unfortunately, my fifth metacarpal, on the pinkie, broke into three pieces.
"The good thing about this is it only happened in the preseason. Of course, I've got to be out a little while, but I'll be able to stay in shape, be around the guys and continue to lead in that way. I'll be the biggest cheerleader and sideline coach and be busting my butt to try and get healthy, attacking my rehab to try and get right."
Pressed on details of the accident, Boozer said his doorbell rang, he headed around a dark corner and stumbled over the bag he'd brought home after a hotel stay during the first week of training camp.
Boozer didn't feel any sharp pain after the fall but said he called the doctor when the area felt numb and became swollen.
"I'm 265 (pounds), five percent body fat. I'm heavy, man," he said. "I guess I had to brace myself and my weight just collapsed the bone right there.
"If I landed with an open hand, I probably would have been fine. But somehow my right hand got turned over and that's what caused the break."
The answer to what the Bulls will do without Boozer seems fairly obvious. Health permitting, Taj Gibson will stay in the lineup after starting 70 games during his rookie season. This news should also free more playing time for veteran Kurt Thomas and rookie Omer Asik.
"Yeah, we'll probably start with Taj," coach Tom Thibodeau said. "We'll do it with a number of guys. We like the depth of the team. Taj has started a number of games last year. Kurt has started a number of games. We can play Joakim (Noah) and Omer together. So there are a lot of things we can do.
"Philosophically, we're not going to change. We're still going to be inside-out. It may not be as many post-ups. It may be more off the dribble to get the ball into the paint for Derrick (Rose). We have other guys we can post up. We can post up Luol (Deng). Omer can post up, Jo can post up."
Boozer does have a history of injuries. He missed 31 and 49 games during his first two seasons in Utah, then skipped 45 games in the 2008-09 season. The two most recent injuries were a hamstring strain and quadriceps tendon strain.
When he signed a five-year, $75-million deal with the Bulls this summer, they could point to the fact that he'd been relatively healthy in three of the last four years, but the injury bug has struck again.
"I don't believe I'm cursed. Just bad luck with that bag, I guess," Boozer said. "I'll have someone else answer the door."
The Bulls face a tough start to the regular season, with road dates in Oklahoma City and Boston before departing on the seven-game circus road trip, which includes games against San Antonio, Dallas, the Lakers, Phoenix and Denver all playoff teams last season.
"In the NBA, you can have an excuse every night, whether it's injuries, schedule, back-to-back, four in five, whatever it may be," Thibodeau added. "You've got to handle whatever's thrown at you. We want to be a tough-minded team and we're going to continue to build and get ready."