The Chicago Bulls have kept up their winning ways despite being more key contributors falling victim to injury. Most recently, they came back to beat the Atlanta Hawks on December 26 without two-time All-Star center Nikola Vucevic.
Vucevic missed his first game since the 2021-22 season, dealing with an adductor strain.
“Expected timetable for Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic with groin strain: At least next 7 to 10 days,” The Athletic and Stadium’s Shams Charania said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on December 27. “Bulls have won nine of 13 games, including Tuesday minus Vucevic, who has averaged 19 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists over his last 10.”
Vucevic, 32, re-signed this past offseason, inking a three-year, $60 million contract on the eve of free agency.
The Bulls are now 7-6 when Vucevic sits since his arrival via trade in February 2022.
He is averaging 16.7 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 3.4 assists this season. Despite his consistency, he hasn’t been the floor-spacer he has been in the past. Vucevic is shooting 28.1% on 3.9 attempts per game.
That is his worst efficiency since he started averaging at least 1.0 attempts per game in 2016-17.
The Bulls notably have a minus-4.0 net efficiency differential with Vucevic on the floor and a plus-1.4 differential when he is off the floor, per Cleaning The Glass.
They got a big night from backup center Andre Drummond in Vucevic’s absence.
Bulls’ Andre Drummond Claims Starter’s Mentality Without Nikola Vucevic
Drummond finished with 24 points and 25 rebounds in the win over the Hawks, marking the 46th time a Bulls player has recorded a 20-20 performance of that kind, per Stathead.
It was the 45th time Drummond had done it in his career.
“Come in each and every day prepared for if my number’s called. Any opportunity, I just try to seize it,” Drummond said via Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic after the game. “My mentality is that I’m not a backup. I still believe I’m a starter in this league. But the position I’m in now, I take it and play to the best of my ability.”
Drummond re-signed on a two-year, $6.6 million contract this past offseason.
Bulls Still Without Zach LaVine, Torrey Craig
Chicago was still without two-time All-Star guard Zach LaVine. He has missed 13 straight contests with foot inflammation. Much like Vucevic, the Bulls have performed better without LaVine than they have with him. He is aiming to return in the first week of January, per Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes on December 18.
Despite his absence, LaVine continues to be mired in trade rumors.
They have trended in the wrong direction, though, as his trade market has not developed amid concerns about his injury history and the remainder of his five-year, $215 million contract.
Craig is sidelined with a foot sprain and will miss at least the next month. He has proven to be a valued veteran presence on the court and in the locker room after finally landing with the Bulls, signing a two-year, $5.4 million contract in free agency this past summer.
All three players should return to the lineup at some point. But the Bulls will have to continue to make do without them for the time being.
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