Chicago Bulls Injury Report: Multiple Players Now Ruled Out, Lakers Sitting LeBron? (UPDATE)

Eleven players on the Chicago Bulls' 15-man roster are listed on the current injury report.

Of course, several have become mainstays over the last few weeks and months. Noa Essengue and Zach Collins have both been ruled out for the season. Meanwhile, updates on the status of Anfernee Simons and Jaden Ivey have been few and far between. Both are dealing with injuries that flared back up after joining the Bulls at the deadline.

Patrick Williams and Jalen Smith have also become plenty familiar with sitting out games. A quad strain for Williams forced him to miss a handful of games, only for him to tweak his ankle after returning against the Kings. The Bulls proceeded to hold him out of their win over the Warriors on Tuesday despite him entering the day as questionable. He will now miss his second consecutive outing, as the team downgraded him to doubtful before officially ruling him out ahead of Thursday's meeting with the Lakers.

As for Smith, he has missed eight of the Bulls' last 13 games due to a lingering calf injury. The Bulls ultimately chose to give him the green light against Golden State, where he played nearly 34 minutes of action and finished with a double-double. Likely concerned that things could pop up again, however, they downgraded Smith to questionable with an "injury management" designation.

With that said, the Bulls have decided to give Smith a go, and one has to imagine the status of Guerschon Yabusele plays a role. The big man was the latest player to join the ever-growing injury report with foot soreness. Yabusele has started 12 of his 14 games with the Bulls since coming over from the Knicks, and he has made the most of them. The undersized but strong big man is averaging 10.2 points and 6.3 rebounds a night to go along with a 39.2 percent success rate from downtown.

Collin Sexton and Isaac Okoro also came into the day as questionable. Sexton missed the Bulls' previous game after having to leave their loss to the Kings with a leg contusion. Before that bump in the road, he was easily the team's best scoring option. Sexton had dropped 20+ points in four straight games, including 28 points in just 22 minutes against Sacramento. He will now miss two consecutive games for only the second time this season.

Okoro was a late scratch on Tuesday. Never listed on the injury report, the Bulls held him out after he experienced some knee soreness before the game. The forward has been among the team's most durable players this season – let alone their most consistently dependable defenders. Any game that Okoro has to sit out is bound to look that much worse defensively.

The good news for the Bulls is that both Josh Giddey and Matas Buzelis are probable and returned from their respective ankle tweaks just fine. Buzelis is fresh off dropping a career-high 41 points, while Giddey dished his third triple-double in the last four games. Can they repeat the magic tonight against Luka Doncic and Company?

Speaking of the Bulls' opponent, they could be without the NBA's all-time leading scorer. LeBron James is currently questionable due to both a hip and a foot injury. He has sat out the last three games for Los Angeles, all of which were wins. With the Bulls not posing a serious threat, it would not be shocking to see the Lakers sit him once again. At the same time, that could make this the perfect game for The King to get back into a groove.

UPDATE: According to Dan Woike of The Athletic, LeBron James will suit up for tonight's meeting against Chicago. It will be his first game since March 5.

Chicago Bulls Injury Report

Matas Buzelis – PROBABLE (ankle)
Josh Giddey – PROBABLE (ankle)
Jalen Smith – QUESTIONABLE (calf)
Isaac Okoro – OUT (knee)
Collin Sexton – OUT (leg)
Patrick Williams – OUT (ankle)
Guerschon Yabusele – OUT (foot)
Anfernee Simons – OUT (wrist)
Jaden Ivey – OUT (knee)
Zach Collins – OUT FOR SEASON (wrist)
Noa Essengue – OUT FOR SEASON (shoulder)

Los Angeles Lakers injury Report

LeBron James – QUESTIONABLE (hip, foot)
Jaxson Hayes – OUT (back)
Maxi Kleber – OUT (back)
Marcus Smart – OUT (hip)

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