Hutchison confident his recovery will be quick this time
A day after heading to the locker room in the fourth quarter of the Bulls' victory over Washington, Chandler Hutchison was confident this is a minor setback, not another long-term injury.
Hutchison returned to action six games ago after missing five weeks with a bruised right shoulder. He's also missed games with a hamstring strain and shin splints this season, playing in just 15 of the Bulls' 42 contests.
"When it happened, I felt kind of like a pop, so in dealing with my shoulder that wasn't a great," he said after Thursday's practice at the United Center. "It's something you don't want to hear. It locked up a little bit and I had trouble lifting it above my shoulders, above my head. I just wanted to get it checked out and go from there."
The injury happened when Hutchison drove the baseline, threw down a nice reverse dunk in traffic and was fouled. He hit the court hard, though, landing on his back. Hutchison is hopeful he'll be able to play Friday in Philadelphia, although that won't be determined until just before game time, most likely.
"I'm kind of used to this whole (injury) thing right now, you know," he said. "You just hope that it's something that's not long-term. This time dodged a bullet for sure. Hopefully if I'm feeling good, then I'm going to go tomorrow."
Hutchison had his best game Wednesday since returning from the shoulder injury, finishing with 11 points and 2 steals.
Butler sets template:
It's been tough to get a handle on whether Chandler Hutchison has the potential to be a good NBA player since he's missed so many games with injuries in his two seasons.
On Thursday, Bulls coach Jim Boylen clarified comments he's made in the past comparing Hutchison to former Bulls forward Jimmy Butler.
"It's very dangerous to compare player to player," Boylen said. "What I've experienced in this league is coaching Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Jimmy Butler. They came in and established themselves at the defensive end of the floor.
"So those dirty work, those toughness parts of the game, they locked into, which gave them a chance to be on the floor. Now they get minutes on the floor and now offensively they get more comfortable and they realize maybe what they don't do well offensively and they work on that and they keep that foundation of defensive intensity.
"That's what that comparison is about and I think he understands what I want. I try to be real clear with that. So we'll see if he can keep moving forward."
Markkanen speaks up:
Lauri Markkanen released a video Thursday, in conjunction with Finland company Neste, to help raise awareness of rising temperatures and extreme weather across the globe. For this campaign, Markkanen created some themed dunks to stress different climate concerns.
This isn't the first time Markkanen has spoken up about climate change. Some athletes are reluctant to talk about off-the-court issues for risk of creating controversy.
"I mean, that's just something that's really important to me," he said Thursday. "I think it's obvious that it's there. I don't really bring it out that much but now I do. Obviously I think it's really important."
Markkanen was asked if it's tough for him to understand why some people disagree with him on this topic.
"Yeah, it kind of just feels logical since we've witnessed," he said. "Where I'm from, going back when I was a kid and how it was back then compared to now, it's the complete opposite. People can have their opinions."