Chicago Bulls: The murky waters of Kris Dunn’s concussion
With little to no concrete updates, the Chicago Bulls have left fans wondering when Kris Dunn will be back in playing shape.
Back on Jan. 17, the collective Chicago Bulls nation held its breath (and by extension, any NBA fans) as they watched breakout point guard Kris Dunn face plant after a breakaway dunk in a tilt against the Golden State Warriors.
Yeah, it was ugly all right.
Without a doubt, Kris Dunn has been unbelievable for the Chicago Bulls this season, boasting averages of 13.7 points, 6.3 assists, 4.6 rebounds and a gaudy 2.1 swipes per contest. That being said, this unfortunate injury is proof that the league’s relatively new and stringent concussion protocols are, albeit inconvenient for fans and organizations, truly necessary.
The onus for the Bulls organization to provide updates has left everyone frustrated with Dunn’s lack of progress, as the situation is playing out eerily similarly to that of Kawhi Leonard‘s mystery quad injury and the San Antonio Spurs‘ subsequent silence.
Right after the injury, coach Fred Hoiberg spoke with diplomacy (given the gravity of the injury) and hopefulness. Unfortunately, that hope didn’t amount to much, as Dunn is still on the shelf more than two weeks later.
While the organization claimed that Dunn didn’t show signs of concussion back on the Jan. 18, the very same day he was indeed diagnosed with a a concussion. If you saw the injury, it shouldn’t come as a shock.
The updates provided since then have been daunting to say the least. The team hadn’t reported a single improved condition (where Dunn originally was suffering from headaches and dizziness), and has consistently kept the label of “out indefinitely” for their rising star second-year player.
Ten days after the injury, the Chicago Bulls let us know that he has a good chance of traveling with the team on their three-game road trip, but then he was ultimately ruled out of that road trip.
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Look, it’s hard to provide meaningful and consistent updates for mysterious injuries, especially ones with stringent league protocols with delicate and vital neurological health on the line. We get it.
But like the Spurs have experienced with Kawhi Leonard’s extended absence, the balance of pressure to get a player back on the court and need to protect his health is a delicate one to say the least.
Similar to the controversy the NFL has faced regarding players’ neurological injuries, the Chicago Bulls are in a position to give a strong boost to the ethos of their storied franchise by continuing to treat the Kris Dunn situation with baby gloves. However, when it comes to updates, they should beware of shaking the beehive that is anxious fans around the NBA world.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Bulls are suffering without their prime facilitator who hasn’t even hit his prime yet. With Sunday’s loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, the Bulls have lost four of their last five contests sans Dunn, and five of the last six if you include the loss to the Warriors in which Dunn sustained his injury.
So when can you expect Dunn back? Well, you be the judge. According to the NBA concussion protocol (via NBC Sports):
"“The return to participation protocol involves several steps of increasing exertion – from a stationary bike, to jogging, to agility work, to non-contact team drills. With each step, a player must be symptom free to move to the next step. If a player is not symptom free after a step, he stops until he is symptom free and begins again at the previous step of the protocol (i.e., the last step he passed without any symptoms).”"
When considering all of that and how badly he knocked his head, it could be measured in weeks, not days.
Concussions have had varying timetables this season, with Blake Griffin missing only two games in January, and Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon missing seven games back in December. While Dunn has only missed five as of now, that number is likely to extend to eight when this three-game road trip is over.
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Get well soon, Kris!