The return of Bulls’ Javonte Green from knee surgery now looking iffy
The hope was to have forward Javonte Green running and cutting laterally at this point, after a January clean-up surgery on his knee. That was not the case, however, as some discomfort has slowed the process down.
Michael Wyke/AP
If lateral movement wasn’t a prerequisite for playing in an NBA game, the Bulls training room would have a lot more working space.
Unfortunately it is, and Javonte Green is just the latest Bull hampered by it.
In giving an update on Green’s rehab status from January right knee surgery, coach Billy Donovan said that Green was stuck in straight-ahead running, despite the team hoping he would have been able to move laterally at this point.
“We’re kind of there with him,’’ Donovan said on Sunday. “Different stuff of what they’ve tried to push him towards, they’ve got to go off his tolerance, so we’ve been kind of at the same thing where the linear, straight-ahead running has been pretty good. They have not been able to progress him yet to any lateral stuff.’’
Sound familiar?
That was also the roadblock that Lonzo Ball (left knee surgery) couldn’t get past for more than a year, with the team finally announcing two weeks ago that he was officially just shutdown for the remainder of this season.
That is not the case with Green yet, even with just 17 regular-season games remaining.
“I don’t know if I would refer to it as a setback,’’ Donovan said. “He just hasn’t been able to move to the next step. That’s kind of where he’s at physically right now.
“I did not ask any further questions of, ‘Hey, how much longer before we think that he can start to do some of that stuff?’ We’ll have to wait and see.’’
While being without Green isn’t the same as being without Ball, don’t undersell the importance Green does have in the lineup.
Besides his plus/minus still the third highest on the team this season with a plus-55, Green was a key contributor to the defensive side of the ball and a sneaky rebounder.
“His motor, his energy, the way he plays, the physicality piece,’’ Donovan said of Green’s absence. “I think the biggest thing for him, his greatest attribute is he knows who he is as a player. He kind of plays to who he is. He’s not a guy that feels like he can impact the game by shooting the ball or putting the ball on the floor, create, score. He impacts the game with his defense, his energy, his offensive rebound, getting out in transition, loose balls, all those types of things that he brings to the table.’’
Green will be a free agent at the end of this season, which adds even more uncertainty to his future with the organization.
Rental piece?
Donovan said he did speak to Patrick Beverley on the phone before they made the decision to sign the veteran off waivers two weeks ago, but one topic that has never been brought up was the idea of keeping Beverley – a Chicago native – beyond the rest of this season.
“We didn’t speak about anything as far as long-term,’’ Donovan said. “We spoke about where our team was at and how I thought he could come in and help us. I wanted to get his perspective. He’s a guy that knows the league really well. Everything I talked to him about was the basketball piece.’’
The Bulls have dropped to 3-3 since signing Beverley, after Sunday’s latest loss to the Pacers.