LaVine in COVID protocol
Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine is expected to miss the next few games and enter the NBA’s health and safety protocols for COVID19.
The Bulls were scheduled to practice Thursday afternoon, a rare opportunity for the team given the rapid pace of games during this condensed season, but called it off because of league protocols, per a team spokeswoman.
The length of LaVine’s absence, which was first reported by ESPN, is unclear, but in addition to concern over the health of the player, it also arrives at an inopportune time for the team. The Bulls have dropped four consecutive games and maintain only a one-game lead over the Washington Wizards and Toronto Raptors for the No. 10 seed and final spot in the play-in tournament in the Eastern Conference.
Now the Bulls are staring down a stretch without LaVine, who is averaging a career-high 27.5 points per game and earned his first All-Star Game appearance in March. He has missed only one game this season, a 121-116 loss to the Phoenix Suns on March 31, to recover from a right ankle injury.
It’s unclear whether more Bulls players will have to enter health and safety protocols. Their next game is Friday against the Memphis Grizzlies at the United Center.
The Bulls added another All-Star in Nikola Vučević to serve as a complement to LaVine but have gone 3-8 since the trade while lamenting their lack of practice time to incorporate Vučević into the system fully.
Some received
Bulls players the COVID-19 vaccine in Chicago last week before beginning their last trip. Most of the team got the vaccine, according to forward Thad Young, but it is unclear whether LaVine was one of them or if his absence is even related to his positive test result.
Strict league protocols have required players to enter the protocols even if they have contact with someone who has tested positive. The Bulls are not eligible to receive their second dose of the Pfizer vaccine until the end of the month, which would put them on track to become fully vaccinated sometime around May 10.