The Chicago Bulls opened their season in miserable fashion.
On Wednesday night, they fell by 43 points to the Toronto Raptors as Kawhi Leonard made his return to his former team and made an immediate impact.
The Bulls’ first chance to bounce back comes on Friday when they play an unusual late afternoon game against the Milwaukee Bucks — moved to allow for the World Series to take the stage on Friday night in Milwaukee.
The changed start time won’t change one reality for Chicago: They’re missing their starting center, Nic Claxton.
They brought Claxton aboard as part of an offseason trade after he had previously played for the Brooklyn Nets, and he’s a lanky and athletic lefty with a chance to make the Bulls better.
He’s just not doing that yet, because he isn’t yet in action.
Why Isn’t Nic Claxton Playing Today?
Nic Claxton isn’t playing because he remains out due to injury.
He hurt his hamstring during training camp. It kept him out of all the preseason games, and now he’s missing his second game to begin the regular season.
Hamstrings are tricky and easy to re-aggravate, so the Bulls are being careful with their big guy.
When is Nic Claxton Coming Back?
Claxton still has another week or two to miss.
Bulls coach Tiago Splitter said on Monday that it’ll be “a couple weeks,” so now by the end of the week, that’s still probably at least 10 days based on Splitter’s timeline.
“He’s gonna start to work more and more, and then see slowly where he can play,” Splitter told reporters on Monday. “First, he’s got to be able to practice with the team and go full speed, so he’s still got a couple weeks.”
The Bulls are starting Jalen Smith at center with Claxton out.
Nic Claxton Trade
Claxton was part of the three-team trade with the Brooklyn Nets and Minnesota Timberwolves that sent Julius Randle to Brooklyn.
All of the previous seven NBA seasons for Claxton had been with the Nets.
He averaged 11.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.1 blocks per game last year for the Nets while making 57.1% of his shots from the floor.
Claxton has blocked as many as 2.5 shots per game in the NBA (2022-23), so he’s clearly an impactful player on the defensive end of the floor. And his passing numbers from last season suggest he’s continued to grow his game.
The Bulls would love to see that talent back on the court sooner rather than later.
Why Isn’t Nic Claxton Playing Today? Bulls’ New Center Injury Hurts Chicago