![\"\"](\"https:\/\/nbahang.aweu.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/bulls-get-brutal-injury-update-on-key-defensive-presence-veteran-leader-thanh-hang.jpg\")
<\/p>\nIt hasn\u2019t been the most productive season for Chicago Bulls forward Torrey Craig.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The seventh-year man is averaging 6.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.0 assists this season. All of those numbers represent dropoffs from last season. Even his three-point efficiency fell from a career-high 39.5% last season to 38.2% this season. That is still his second-highest mark ever.<\/p>\n
The Bulls have valued his hustle and defensive presence more than anything. But they will have to navigate life without him for the next two months at least.<\/p>\n
\u201cChicago Bulls forward Torrey Craig has been diagnosed with an acute sprain of his right plantar fascia,\u201d read the official team press release on December 19. \u201cCraig will be immobilized for approximately four weeks followed by a period of rehabilitation projected to require an additional four to six weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe injury, which Craig suffered in the second quarter at Miami on December 16, was revealed following an MRI at Rush Hospital today,\u201d the release continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cUpdates will be provided as appropriate.\u201d<\/p>\n
To make matters worse, it is the 33-year-old Craig\u2019s birthday. The team shared a graphic to that effect earlier in the day before updating his status.<\/p>\n
The projected timeline would put him on track to return by the Bulls\u2019 Valentine\u2019s Day matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers. That is the final of a four-game road trip \u2013 and one of five road games in six outings \u2013 which is not when teams typically bring players back.<\/p>\n
Especially because that will bump up against the All-Star break.<\/p>\n
The Bulls return from the hiatus with a home date against the Boston Celtics on February 22. But their three-game homestand that starts with the Detroit Pistons (February 27) could be a sweet spot if Craig is healthy enough.<\/p>\n
That would also be the 10-week mark.<\/p>\n
Torrey Craig\u2019s Impact Felt by Young Bulls<\/strong> The veteran briefly wrestled the starting job away from the youngster.<\/p>\n But head coach Billy Donovan eventually replaced him with Alex Caruso before reinstating Williams amid ongoing injury issues for Caruso.<\/p>\n \u201cHe cares about winning and defense. That\u2019s it. He takes pride in every matchup he has. He never wants a double-team. And especially on the defensive end, he\u2019s always talking and teaching us young guys,\u201d Coby White said, per K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago on December 19. \u201cAnd the one thing I love about him is he\u2019s not afraid to use his voice.\u201d<\/p>\n Bulls Await Zach LaVine\u2019s Return<\/strong> \u201cBilly Donovan said Zach LaVine has started straight-ahead running and light shooting with no setbacks,\u201d Johnson posted on X on December 18. \u201cSaid LaVine will need \u2018some kind of ramp-up of physical activity in a practice or against player development guys\u2019 whenever he\u2019s cleared before he plays.\u201d<\/p>\n That would seem to put him on track for his anticipated return timeline.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m told that he could possibly return from his injury probably the first week of January,\u201d Bleacher Report\u2019s Chris Haynes reported on December 18. \u201cSo it\u2019s still a little time with him being out. He wants to make sure he doesn\u2019t have any setbacks when he returns.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It hasn\u2019t been the most productive season for Chicago Bulls forward Torrey Craig. The seventh-year man is averaging 6.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.0 assists this season…. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":73343,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-73337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73337"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73337\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nCraig signed a two-year, $5.4 million contract in free agency this past offseason. The Bulls brought him in, not only to help on the court but also to push fourth-year forward \u2013 and former No. 4 overall pick \u2013 Patrick Williams.<\/p>\n
\nCraig\u2019s is just the latest injury concern for the Bulls, who are still without two-time All-Star guard Zach LaVine. LaVine has missed the last nine games with foot inflammation, but Donovan did note the guard had made progress in his rehabilitation.<\/p>\n