Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan recently voiced the well-worn point that very few players are fully healthy at this point of the grueling NBA season.
It's just that two of the Bulls' more important players are currently battling more soreness than usual.
The Bulls officially listed DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso as questionable for Friday's game in Portland against the Trail Blazers, which opens a critical, three-game trip. DeRozan re-aggravated a right quad strain during Wednesday's home loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, exiting in the third quarter. The same injury sidelined the Bulls' leading scorer for five games in January and February.
Caruso has missed the last two full games and left last Saturday's home victory over the Miami Heat early after re-aggravating his left midfoot sprain. Caruso warmed up with the intention of playing against the 76ers, but the team scratched him last minute out of what it termed "an abundance of caution" after the defensive ace experienced some discomfort in his game preparation. Caruso is currently listed on the injury report as having left midfoot soreness, not a sprain.
The Bulls didn't practice on Thursday, meeting to fly to Portland in the afternoon. In injury report parlance, questionable means the players have a 50-50 chance of playing. The Bulls fly to Los Angeles to play the Lakers and Clippers to conclude the trip.
Donovan said both players will likely have to manage their situations for the remainder of the season. The Bulls currently sit in 10th place in the Eastern Conference.