It was never the intention for Bulls star Zach LaVine to miss the start of the season.
After having a clean-up surgery on his troublesome left knee in the spring, signing a max contract in July and communicating throughout the preseason that he was ready to go, all signs pointed to a healthy LaVine. Instead, he made his season debut in the Bulls’ third game — their home opener — Saturday against the Cavaliers. He scored 23 points in a 128-96 loss.
LaVine’s explanation was vague at best Wednesday, and coach Billy Donovan continued the hazy messaging about LaVine’s long-term status before the game against the Cavaliers. He reiterated that LaVine played very little five-on-five over the summer, which was dedicated to rehab to strengthen the knee. That left the Bulls to figure out what his load tolerance would be.
‘‘We knew we were going to have to manage [his knee] going into the season, we just didn’t know when or what it would look like,’’ Donovan said before the game. ‘‘We had to do something to ramp him up to start the season.’’
That ramping-up period was the Bulls’ first three preseason games. LaVine sat out the last one against the Bucks, and the week between the last preseason game and the regular-season opener Wednesday against the Heat is when things went awry.
Donovan said LaVine had been fully cleared for training camp, but three grueling practices between the end of the preseason and the start of the regular season led to discomfort and soreness in the knee.
The Bulls are trying to avoid losing LaVine for any long period of time, Donovan said, so they are doing their best to manage him right now, especially in terms of back-to-back games.
‘‘He could be feeling good, but the doctors say this extra load, you’re better off taking this off,’’ Donovan said.
Donovan said that there is nothing structurally wrong with LaVine’s knee and that he is fully cleared to play. So if he’s fully cleared to play, why isn’t he?
Donovan stressed LaVine isn’t the one making the decision to sit out.
‘‘There’s a group effort there,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘I’m probably not part of that because I’m not a doctor. I leave it up to them.’’
DeRozan fouled
The Bulls’ game Friday against the Wizards gave everyone a sense of deja vu.
The ending was eerily similar to the one between the teams on Jan. 2 of last season, when DeMar DeRozan got the ball in the corner and made his second buzzer-beating three-pointer in 24 hours. This time, however, his three from the top of the key rimmed out, and the Bulls lost 102-100.
The NBA’s report on the last two minutes of the game said the Wizards’ Anthony Gill should have been called for a foul on the play.
‘‘Gill contests DeRozan’s jump shot and initiates contact with his foot before DeRozan has returned to the floor,’’ the report said.
DeRozan is an 83.7% career free-throw shooter, leading many to think the Bulls should have entered their game against the Cavaliers 2-0.
DeRozan appeared to be in midseason form in the Bulls’ first two games, scoring 37 points against the Heat and 32 against the Wizards. He also had nine assists and six rebounds against the Heat.
He and Hall of Famer Michael Jordan are the only players in Bulls history to score 37 points in a season opener.
