Bulls Insider

DeRozan will miss Trail Blazers game with quad strain

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PORTLAND, Ore. --- DeMar DeRozan, who left Wednesday's home loss to the Philadelphia 76ers early with a right quad strain, will sit out Friday's road game against the Trail Blazers.

DeRozan re-aggravated the injury that sidelined him for five games in January and February during the third quarter against the 76ers. He only scored four points in that game, his lowest output since joining the Chicago Bulls.

This will be the seventh game that DeRozan has missed. He also sat one game in February with right hip soreness. Leading up to the All-Star break, DeRozan said he had been managing the quad soreness since he left a Jan. 9 road game at Boston after colliding with Al Horford.

DeRozan is walking without a limp and was in good spirits at the Bulls' morning shootaround at the Moda Center. Coach Billy Donovan said on Wednesday in Chicago that most players aren't fully healthy at this stage of the season and that DeRozan likely will have to manage the situation for the rest of the season.

The Bulls begin a three-game trip against Portland, which is without Jerami Grant and Anfernee Simons and could be without Jusuf Nurkic and Damian Lillard. They're expected to return Alex Caruso to the lineup after he has missed the last two games with his lingering left midfoot soreness. Caruso warmed up before Wednesday's home game with the intention of playing but sat as a precaution when he experienced some minor discomfort. He participated in shootaround.

The Bulls travel to Los Angeles, where DeRozan, who grew up in nearby Compton, loves to play for games against the Lakers and Clippers. They currently sit 10th in the Eastern Conference play-in race.

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