This afternoon, the Chicago Bulls announced that both Wendell Carter Jr. and Otto Porter Jr. will be out for Saturday night’s tilt against the Los Angeles Lakers. Carter will miss his second consecutive game as he looks to recover from a quad injury that he sustained in practice earlier this week. In the case of Otto Porter, the Bulls management elected to give him a rest day on the second game of a back-to-back to ensure he remains healthy for the duration of the season. These are two rather big losses for the Bulls as they face a Lakers team that sports the best record in the NBA (12-4).
Get me rewrite: Quad, not hip, for Carter.
As for Porter, Billy Donovan talked about resting him in back-to-back sets after he played in one such set and had his back flare up. https://t.co/QRm8lJRnU3
Despite missing key members of the lineup when these two teams played a couple of weeks ago, the Bulls held their own and lost a hard-fought 117-115 contest. In that meeting, the Bulls were without Otto Porter Jr. for most of the game as well as Lauri Markkanen. Expect Lauri to have an impact on this game, as well as Patrick Williams and Garrett Temple to pick up some of the minutes left from Porter Jr.’s void.
When the Lakers visit the United Center tonight, the Bulls will be looking to extend their winning streak to four games. The game will tip-off at 8 PM CT on NBC Sports Chicago. Check back for a game report afterward and make sure to stay up to date on all things Chicago basketball by tuning in to the Bulls On Tap podcast.