“As bad as I know he wants to play, LaVine has gotta take care of his body!”: DeMar DeRozan is ready to lead the shorthanded Bulls, suggests his All-Star partner to take a breather

The Chicago Bulls might be without Zach LaVine for a long time, DeMar DeRozan suggests his teammate take care of his nagging injury first.

After starting the season in a blockbuster fashion, the Chicago Bulls have been in some trouble since one after the other their core players started getting injured.

Lonzo Ball went out because of a torn meniscus on Jan. 15th. Alex Caruso broke his wrist just a week later, while they also had Patrick Williams and Derrick Jones Jr. out. The Bulls were with a 26-10 record by the first week of January, since then, they have gone 10-11.

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They looked like they would do even worse when they were finding it difficult to get wins on a consistent basis without their tremendous defensive point guards duo’s absence and Nikola Vucevic not playing up to his standards for a long time now.

But their All-Star duo of DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine did not let that happen. Even though Zach has been in and out of the lineup since their mid-January clash with the Warriors, they have managed to get wins here and there and keep the Bulls the second-best team in the East.

DeRozan might have to take care of the business on the court as Zach has decided to go to a specialist for his troublesome sour knee.

DeMar DeRozan wants to carry the Bulls in Zach LaVine’s absence

On a 3-game winning run, at the time when winning has come scarcely for the Bulls, they face San Antonio Spurs on Monday and Sacramento Kings on Wednesday before the All-Star weekend. They’d be without LaVine both these games, and the 2x All-Star might even miss the All-Star game.

DeRozan has taken care of the team while giving time to LaVine to access his injury. The former Raptors forward has had 38.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 5.2 assists in the last five games. And he wants his partner in crime to take care of his body first so that he can be in good shape before the playoffs.

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It might not be a difficult task for the Bulls MVP to take them through his former team Spurs (22-35) and the Kings (22-36), but he’ll surely need Zach after the All-Star break.

If they want the top-4 seed in the East before the Playoffs, their All-Star pair will have to drag them there as all the other starters are expected to return in late March or even later.