Chicago Bulls forward Mike Dunleavy Jr. successfully underwent a lower back microdiscectomy surgery on Friday at Rush University Medical Center, the team announced. He is expected to be sidelined eight to 10 weeks.
According to the Bulls, Dunleavy “experienced some occasional back discomfort over the summer which had recently worsened.”
With training camp right around the corner, Dunleavy’s injury comes at a very inopportune time. The current timetable could place him on the injury list until early-to-mid December, possibly keeping the 13-year veteran out for approximately 30 to 35 games.
As Chicago’s starting small forward, Dunleavy doesn’t put up major numbers, but he is a key component due to his outstanding outside shooting. Last season, in 63 games, the 35-year old shot 43.5 percent from three-point range, averaging 9.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per outing.
When Dunleavy missed 19 games last year due to an ankle sprain, the Bulls went 9-10 in his absence, which ascertains how important he is to the team’s success.
Now with Dunleavy expected to miss a large portion of the first half of the season, Bulls new head coach Fred Hoiberg has to figure out who to start in his place. There are a few options for the rookie head coach.
Coach Hoiberg can either start Tony Snell at the two guard position and shift Jimmy Butler to the three, or start sophomore Doug McDermott at small forward, or go bigger by starting Nikola Mirotic at the three spot. Another alternative could be going entirely small and starting Kirk Hinrich in the backcourt with Derrick Rose while Butler slides to small forward.
Either way, Chicago will need to find efficiency and steadiness from three-point distance with Dunleavy out. Last year, the team ranked 10th in three-point efficiency and 15th in three-pointers made. That could slightly change early this season with Dunleavy injured.