After clipping his foot on Boston’s Al Horford during the 3rd quarter of Monday night’s game, DeMar DeRozan had to head to the locker room.
The Chicago Bulls’ leading scorer wasn’t able to return in his team’s close 107-99 loss on the road, and the attention immediately turned to his status after the game.
Fortunately, DeRozan was able to address reporters and calm at least some of our nerves. While he didn’t say whether or not he expects to play in Wednesday’s game versus Washington, he did say he would consider the injury a day-to-day thing.
More specifically, DeRozan explained that he’s been dealing with a quad injury during the past several games. The tumble he took last night then irritated the wound to the point where he felt like he should step off the floor:
“I felt like I couldn’t like I wanted to, so I just didn’t want to limit myself and slow the team down in any type of way … I feel fine,” DeRozan “Other than being irritated. Being irritated and uncomfortable. Nothing too crazy. It’s just in that spot. Moving, you just need that to kind of simmer down and not be so sore, which is where it’s at.”
A calm DeRozan said the plan was to receive treatment and see where he was at on Tuesday. Of course, it’s always possible we don’t receive the best news ahead of tomorrow night, but let’s also not forget who we’re dealing with.
DeRozan has been one of the most readily available players in the NBA over the past decade, appearing in the 6th-most games since the 2013-14 campaign. He has yet to miss a game this season and played in 76 of the team’s 82 games last year. So even if DeRozan isn’t given the green light for Wednesday’s matchup with Washington, I’m not sure we should expect him to remain sidelined for too long. The guy has played through his fair share of bumps and bruises before, so let’s hope this situation doesn’t prove any different.
