Chicago Bulls: Biggest midseason takeaways from 2018-19

Rash of injuries a major contributor to lackluster start

To say the Bulls have been hit with their fair share of injuries early on would be an understatement. For starters, Lauri Markkanen sustained an elbow injury in training camp that kept him out of the mix for 23 games.

Kris Dunn, who is still trying to prove that he deserves to be the starting point guard, missed some time as well with an MCL sprain. Bobby Portis, who was coming off a career season in 2017-18, has been out of the rotation multiple times with an MCL sprain and an ankle injury as well.

The injuries have limited him to just 12 appearances thus far.

On top of that, another key member of the second unit — Denzel Valentine — will have to forego his third NBA season after undergoing reconstructive ankle surgery.

To be fair, no one expected the Bulls to be a juggernaut this season. They weren’t going to come out and win their first five outings or 12 of their first 15.

However, when key pieces of the rotation are on the bench for significant stretches, it is going to limit a team’s potential to a certain extent.

Now that everyone is healthy for the most part, it will be interesting to see how this group performs during the second half of the season.