2:32pm: The Bulls have confirmed that Portis sustained a sprained right MCL, estimating in a press release that he’ll miss the next four to six weeks.
1:56pm: The hits keep coming for the Bulls, who have already lost several players to injuries this season and will now be without another key rotation piece. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), power forward Bobby Portis has been diagnosed with a sprained MCL in his right knee and is expected to miss several weeks of action.
Portis, who suffered the injury on Wednesday night during the fourth quarter of the Bulls’ win over the Hornets, underwent an MRI on Thursday morning to determine the extent of the injury. K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune had previously reported that the club feared Portis would miss at least four weeks with an injury similar to Kris Dunn‘s.
Dunn, who has a sprained MCL of his own, is expected to be on the shelf for four to six weeks. The Bulls are also missing Lauri Markkanen, who will be out until at least mid-November with an elbow injury, and Denzel Valentine, who has been sidelined with an ankle issue.
Although he was expected to open the season as a sixth man for the Bulls, Portis was shifted to the starting lineup after Markkanen went down. He responded by averaging a double-double (10.5 PPG, 10.0 RPG) in Chicago’s first four games while averaging a career-high 28.3 minutes per contest. The 23-year-old failed to reach an extension agreement with Chicago this fall, so he’s playing for his next contract this season — he’ll be eligible for restricted free agency in 2019.
Portis’ injury could mean increased roles for some combination of Wendell Carter, Robin Lopez, and Cristiano Felicio up front. Jabari Parker, who has been coming off the bench at power forward, may also get an opportunity to move back into the starting five, though the Bulls have yet to make any announcement to that effect.