Bulls guard LaVine won't play in season opener against Heat
Bulls guard Zach LaVine will not play in tonight's season opener at Miami, the team announced Wednesday morning.
It's officially listed as an injury management issue, stemming from the arthroscopic surgery he had on his left knee in May. While playing in three of four preseason games, LaVine said the knee felt good, but he wanted to ease back into playing heavy minutes.
There seemed to be few concerns, then he popped up on the Bulls injury report as questionable to play against the Heat. Point guard Lonzo Ball is also sidelined, recovering from a second arthroscopic knee surgery in the past nine months.
"I just want to make sure I'm safe in bringing myself back in and managing it," LaVine told reporters in Miami. "It's the way it is. Just for going forward, I want to make sure I'm 100% at the end of the season, too. So I think the best thing is just managing it and having the team support, me supporting myself in going out there and being the best I can."
Asked when he felt the knee pain flare up, LaVine corrected the question.
"I never said I felt a flare up," he said. "I think it's just something we're going to have to manage going forward. With the schedule, this is the determined course of action."
LaVine was asked about playing Friday in Washington and gave a vague answer. But if the Bulls aren't comfortable playing him in Miami, there's probably no chance LaVine plays in both legs of back-to-back games this weekend.
After facing the Wizards, the Bulls host Cleveland in the home opener at the United Center on Saturday.
"I think we looked at the schedule and figured out what would be right for me, what would make me feel best, not just now but at the end of the season," LaVine said. "It's a long season, and there's going to be some sunny days and there's going to be some rainy days. I think if you just go forward with that mentality I'll be all right."
During preseason, LaVine averaged 21.8 minutes in the three games he played, with 8.7 points and 3.0 assists. LaVine's last preseason game was 10 days ago on Oct. 9, so clearly he's not feeling right.
LaVine doesn't know if load management will be a season long issue.
"I wish I had a crystal ball to look into the future, I really do," he said. "It would be great if I could figure that out. I'll look up some lottery-ticket numbers if I knew that."
Bulls coach Billy Donovan previously announced Ayo Dosunmu and Patrick Williams would be starters against the Heat, joining DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic. Now there's an open spot to be announced.
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