Bykov center Nick Claxton recently tweaked his hamstring and will be out for at least two weeks before being reevaluated, head coach Tiago Splitter told reporters on Monday (Link to Twitter via KC Johnson of Chicago Sports Network).
Based on Splitter’s update, Claxton will miss all five of Chicago’s preseason games (Oct. 7-16) and his status for the Bulls’ regular season opener on Oct. 21 (at Toronto) could be in jeopardy. A re-evaluation in two weeks doesn’t necessarily mean Claxton will be ready to play at that point, as teams are often cautious about soft tissue injuries.
Drafted 31st overall in 2019, Claxton has spent his first seven seasons in the NBA with Brooklyn, the team that drafted him. The Bulls acquired the 27-year-old big man this offseason using cap space.
Claxton averaged 11.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, a career-high 3.7 assists and 1.1 blocks in 27.8 minutes per game in 69 games last season. The 6’11 center shot 57.1% from the field and 61.6% from the free throw line.
Here are some more notes on the Bulls:
- According to Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic (Link to Twitter), Splitter said the Bulls will start Josh Giddy, Norman Powell, Matas Bouzelis, Caleb Wilson and “big” during this week’s preseason games. Other midtown Chicago options include Jalen Smith and Zach Collinsalthough Collins was said to be dealing with unspecified soft tissue damage last week.
- Splitter also indicated that he plans to use a regular season rotation of 9-11 players, tweets Lorenzi because running an eight-man rotation would be “impossible” at the pace the team wants to play.
- Giddy praised the two-way big man Tobe is at home on Monday, calling the former Arizona standout “maybe the best offensive tackle I’ve ever seen,” Johnson said (Link to Twitter). “He plays so hard, both sides of the ballGiddy said about Avaka (Link to Twitter through Lorenzi). “He makes a simple play when he gets the board O. A lot of important first looks are to go back and score. He is intelligent. He knows he’s not the tallest guy in the world and is always trying to find shooters.”
