Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler is expected to miss 3-6 weeks of action with an elbow injury.
According to the Chicago Tribune, a MRI exam confirmed on Monday that Butler had a ligament sprain and small bone impaction injury to his left elbow. The injury occurred when Butler ran into a screen by DeAndre Jordan during the third quarter in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday. Butler will not need surgery but could miss a significant chunk of the final games of the regular season.
Butler's 20.2 points per game lead the Bulls in scoring and helped earn him his first All-Star appearance this season. The injury to Butler couldn't have come at a worse time as the Bulls are without star point guard Derrick Rose after he underwent successful knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus. Also missing from the Bulls lineup is forward Taj Gibson who suffered an ankle injury against Minnesota on Feb. 27. Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich said the team will have to adjust without some of their top players.
"The news about Derrick, and then Taj going down with the ankle and Jimmy going down with the elbow, I guess when it rains, it pours," Hinrich said. We can't sit around feeling sorry for ourselves. Nobody else is going to."
Hinrich will take over the point guard duties for Rose while guard Tony Snell will replace Butler. The Bulls are currently the third seed in the Eastern Conference.