Chicago Bulls F Otto Porter Jr. is aiming to return around the All-Star Break in February, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported Friday. Shams has dropped a lot of news on us this Friday, damn. So Porter has been sidelined for most of the season due to a foot injury. He hasn’t played since Nov. 6 and the Bulls have been hurt as a result, though Chicago is still in the hunt for the No. 8 seed in the East.
With Porter sidelined, the Bulls have been using Kris Dunn in three-guard lineups as a SG/SF combo with Tomas Satoransky and Zach LaVine. Once Porter is back, the Bulls will have a more traditional look I imagine, with Porter starting alongside Sato, LaVine, Lauri Markkanen and Wendell Carter Jr. Porter’s return would be a nice boost for Chicago’s defense, which has been average this season. I also think Porter’s return would help out Markkanen a lot. Lauri would be able to focus less on his overall play defensively and more on offense. Porter could pick up the slack and guard tougher opponents at SF and PF.