The Chicago Bulls will have to continue to find ways to address their outside guns with word that Mike Dunleavy Jr. will be forced to sit out an additional four to six weeks after undergoing back surgery in the offseason.
The 35-year-old Dunleavy is a key player for the Bulls' rotation, someone who could hit the outside shots and widen the congested paint that could make life easier for the big men and the slashers like Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler.
Doug McDermott has been filling in for Dunleavy, but the obvious thing is that the National Basketball Association (NBA) vet still has the edge with his experience and uncanny touch from the perimeter. Until Dunleavy is given the proper clearance to participate in basketball-related activities, head coach Fred Hoiberg may have to user his McDermott and Nikola Mirotić more for now.
With Dunleavy out, the Bulls are missing big numbers from the outside.
Last season, Dunleavy was 39.6% on catch-and-shoots and 46.9% on pull up threes per the Bleacher Report.
Hoiberg's crew could have benefited a lot had the NBA vet been healthy. But with belief that Dunleavy may have forced himself a bit to recover faster and rejoin his teammates, such resulted into something worse.
Four to six weeks is, of course, a conservative time frame. Dunleavy will likely need to get back to playing form and blend in with the team which is adapting a new system with the first-year head coach Fred Hoiberg.
Should Dunleavy be cleared to return to active duty, his place may likely be on managed minutes which means that his return to old form could take more time as well.
The only good thing to watch out for is that Dunleavy could be back to form by the time the postseason comes around. The Bulls are looking good so far and will likely advance.
Hopefully, they have a healthy group by then, including the veteran sharpshooter.
