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.
Dunleavy, who signed a fresh pact with the Bulls back in July, will be a big blow for the franchise. Dunleavy, a 13-year NBA veteran, has been a vital figure for the Bulls, particularly with his ability to nail the three-point shot.
His presence last season benefitted players like Jimmy Butler, Derrick Rose and Pau Gasol who were able to operate with a bit more space since opposing teams had to extend their defense. With his sidelining, the Bulls will now have to look for another shooter to fill up the slack at least until December.
A player who could be tasked to pick up the outside scoring slack would be Doug McDermott.
McDermott is coming off an injury-plagued rookie season, but does have the potential to fill in the void. He owns decent averages from the field (40.2%) and from three-point territory (31.7%) last season, making him the likely replacement while Dunleavy recuperates from his recent back surgery.
Of course Jimmy Butler could also fill in at small forward, seeing that Butler does have a decent perimeter game. Butler is a good inside and outside operator though his role for the coming season depends entirely on what new head coach Fred Hoiberg has up his sleeves.
Depending on the progress of his rehabilitation, the earliest time that Dunleavy could return would be on November 20 and the latest by December 4. In total, Dunleavy stands to miss 12 to 15 games, a conservative estimate.
8 weeks means Dunleavy will return Nov. 20. 10 weeks means Dec. 4. Right around the first big western road swing. Between 12-15 games
— Vincent Goodwill (@vgoodwill) September 25, 2015
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