NBA players who’ve had surgery to repair a torn thumb ligament are usually out six to eight weeks.
Thankfully for Zach LaVine, that scenario doesn’t apply in his case.
Dealing with a “Grade 1-2 sprain’’ of his left thumb, LaVine said Wednesday that he planned to play, but the situation was fluid.
“Right now it’s just trying to figure out how to manage the pain and keep it safe, then going forward, I’ll get more information on it if I plan to play with it,’’ LaVine said. “Obviously, if they say I’m safe, I’m safe, but if it’s a pain thing, and I’m able to play, then I can deal with it.’’
LaVine said he and the training staff were looking at ways to protect the thumb with padding, tape or some other device.
Coach Billy Donovan said it’s worth keeping an eye on from game to game.
“It’s gonna take some time to tell; we’ll see how he does,’’ Donovan said. “It just happened the other day, so it’s not like there’s been a lot of time on the court to see how it feels.’’
The Bulls host the Knicks on Thursday and are off to a 4-0 start for the first time since the 1996-97 season. LaVine leads the team in scoring at 25.5 points per game and is shooting 44.4% from three-point range.
