Chicago Bulls: 5 predictions for the 2018-19 NBA season
4. Lauri Markkanen is still in line for an All-Star caliber season
Unfortunately, the squad will open the season without franchise building block Lauri Markkanen. The Finnish big man will miss the next 6-8 weeks with an elbow injury suffered last week in practice.
The injury suffered was certainly a significant setback for the Finnish big man. After a strong summer focusing on bulking up and improving his game, Markkanen was on track for a great start to the new campaign.
While that start will be delayed, the Bulls power forward should still produce big numbers upon returning. With the injury timeline set at approximately 6-8 weeks, Markkanen should return by December. While he may not make the All-Star Game this season, once he’s back on the court, he’ll still have the offense designed around him.
The #Bulls could be without forward Lauri Markkanen for 6-8 weeks, after he suffered a high grade lateral elbow sprain in practice.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 29, 2018
Last season, Markkanen reached 100 career 3-pt FG in just 41 career games.
That's the fastest any player reached 100 3-pt FG in league history. pic.twitter.com/CQCa3VmhSb
Last season, Markkanen averaged 15.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game for the Bulls. Now that he’s familiar with the NBA grind, those numbers should go up. There won’t be much question of whether he can be the team’s go-to scorer this season. When he’s healthy, Markkanen will be the man for the Bulls.