The Bulls may have suffered a big blow for the coming season after Mike Dunleavy Jr. was ruled out for 8 to 10 weeks following a low back microdiscectomy procedure at Rush University Medical Center.
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Dunleavy, 35, experienced some back discomfort earlier this summer, and things recently worsened. It’s bad that this is happening right as training camp is about to begin, though – both Dunleavy and the team must wish this had been done earlier in the offseason.
When Dunleavy missed 19 games previous year due to an ankle sprain, the Bulls went 9-10 in his absence, which ascertains how important he is to the team’s success. In the playoffs, Dunleavy averaged 10.9 points and shot 48 percent from beyond the arc. The Bulls, as they’re accustomed to doing, will just have to wait awhile.
Dunleavy’s injury will also open up an opportunity for Doug McDermott, but he’ll most likely come off the bench to start the year. The Bulls could sure use McDermott’s shooting, and he’ll have to prove that his body can stand up to the rigors of the regular season.
“€œI have a good sense of his style, € McDermott said”. He has a great offensive mind. As a rookie McDermott didn’t get much of a chance to live up to those expectations but with Mike Dunleavy set to miss time McDermott could see a big minutes increase at least at the beginning of the season, according to Rotoworld. His team (at Iowa State) shot a lot of 3s.
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The Bulls acknowledge in a statement the timing of the operation was “unfortunate” with practices starting next week.
