Bulls practice notes: Help is on the way

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The start of the Bulls season has been rough, but the cavalry is coming.

1. Olen Tulossa

Olen Tulossa is Finnish for “I’m on my way” and while Lauri Markkanen didn’t say that exactly, you could sense his anxiousness as he met with reporters Tuesday afternoon at the Advocate Center. Markkanen went through his first full contact practice since spraining his right elbow in September.

“Obviously, I’m really excited,” Markkanen said and then with an ornery smile to the media went on, “I wish I was warming up out there right now.”

It’s good to know the 7-footer hasn’t lost his sense of humor through the difficult, frustrating and long rehab process. What was originally a six-to-eight week recovery timetable is now at nine weeks and counting. Patience, however, will be key moving forward as Markannen and Hoiberg were asked multiple times about a target date.

Here’s what Markkanen, the centerpiece to the Bulls rebuild, had to say: “We’re going day by day and we’ll see how I feel. Today is the first real practice for me and we’ll see how it reacts to that. Hopefully soon.”

2. What’s Next

Once he left the media scrum Markkanen jumped right in to the shell drill the Bulls were working on and you could see and feel the excitement from everyone on the floor.

“He’s ready to roll. He’s been waiting for this moment for a long time. It’s exciting for everbody,” said Fred Hoiberg.

Originally the Bulls considered having Markkanen practice with the G League Windy City Bulls but the schedule didn’t line up. Instead, he will travel with the team to Milwaukee and then on to Detroit, Houston and Indianapolis. Many are eying that match-up with the Pacers on December 4th as a possible return date. And according to Hoiberg, Markkanen will need at least a week of pain free practices before he returns in a game. So, read into that, as you will. 

3. Help is on the way

Kris Dunn and Bobby Portis were also on the floor going through the non-contact portion of practice. And even though they were just running drills, you can finally get a better idea of what this team is supposed to look like when they are healthy. Markkanen and Zach LaVine working together, Dunn pushing the ball and Jabari Parker playing in his natural position.

But, as Fred would say… let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

It should be noted that Dunn looked really smooth running around and putting up shots “non-contact” or not, Portis was certainly wearing out the blocking pad while working on high screens. And while not on the court, thoughts are with Denzel Valentine who will undergo surgery on his left ankle in Green Bay late Tuesday afternoon. 

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