The Chicago Bulls revealed Wednesday that star guard Zach LaVine will miss approximately 2-4 weeks with an ankle injury. The news was first delivered by head coach Jim Boylen at practice, per Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune and Malika Andrews of ESPN.com.
INJURY UPDATE: Zach LaVine injured his left ankle in the 4th quarter of the Bulls game against Orlando on Dec. 13. Additional opinions concurred with the original diagnosis of a medial ankle sprain. LaVine will be out approximately two-to-four weeks from the date of the injury. pic.twitter.com/DVSM4ioksm
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) December 19, 2018
Greenstein later reported that Boylen termed it a lower ankle sprain of the deltoid ligament, and Andrews clarified the 2-4 week timetable would extend from Wednesday, not the original date of injury, which took place during the fourth quarter of Friday’s 97-91 loss to the Orlando Magic in Mexico City.
“We’ve gotten all the information we need to,” Boylen told reporters. “We feel safe saying that’s kind of where it’s at.”
LaVine, in his second season with Chicago, has been playing career-best ball, averaging 23.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 35.3 minutes per game. Attacking the rim with more frequency, LaVine had been earning six free throw attempts nightly — a marked boost from his previous high of 4.5 FTA per game, set last season in the 24 games prior to a knee injury that prematurely ended his season.
