NEW ORLEANS – “Arkansas guys’’ just have stronger ankles.
At least that’s what Daniel Gafford was selling on Wednesday.
The Bulls rookie big man rolled his ankle during the game with Dallas, stayed down for a few seconds, and missed no real time.
Sure, there was still some icing going on after the morning shootaround at the Smoothie King Center two days later, but sitting out just to be cautious? Not in Gafford’s vocabulary.
“It was a little bump in the road I had to get over,’’ Gafford said. “I’m an Arkansas guy, so stuff like that we deal with on a daily basis. We keep on rolling
“Once I came back out it loosened up. It was real tight when I had got more tape on it, but other than that when I came back out it loosened up for me. As you can see I was still jumping out of the gym.’’
Who currently is not jumping out of the gym?
Second-year center Wendell Carter Jr., who is dealing with a sprained right ankle. Obviously, Carter’s was much more severe than Gafford. Enough so that Carter was not only out against the Pelicans, but still using a crutch to get around.
He’ll have an MRI back in Chicago on Thursday, according to coach Jim Boylen, but the expectation is he’ll miss more than just the game in New Orleans.
So what did that immediately mean for Gafford and his playing time? More minutes, but still minutes that came off the bench. With Carter sidelined, Boylen opted to go smaller against the Pelicans, instead starting veteran Thaddeus Young.
“I think you could look at it a couple different ways,’’ Boylen said of the decision. “Do you start a guy who hasn’t been starting who’s in a real comfortable role? Do you look at the matchups on the other team and figure out what’s best for him as a young player, who to match to and who to play against?’’
Both answers told Boylen to go with Young. As for Gafford, he was fine with either scenario.
“Like I always say just coming in and doing the things they ask me to do,’’ Gafford said of his growing comfort level with the NBA game. “Doing the things I’m used to doing instead of going out and trying to be a whole different player. Just go out and do the things I’m more comfortable doing instead of trying to come out of my comfort zone.’’
That means protect the rim – Gafford leads the team with 1.3 blocks per game – and dunk anything that looks round. There’s a reason Gafford also leads the team with a 68.8 field goal percentage.
“I’m just used to doing that,’’ Gafford said, when discussing the frequency of his personal slam contest. “I tell the guys when you throw a lob, there shouldn’t be no one to get their hands on it but me. That lets you know you should throw it up there as high as you possibly can and I’ll go get it for you.
“I tell them all the time, ‘Just have faith in I’m going to go get it for you. Just put your trust in me and I promise you it will come out right in the end for us.’ ‘’
On the ‘Mark’
There was some concern on Lauri Markkanen’s availability for the game with the Pelicans, with the big man still dealing with a sore left ankle, despite playing 36 minutes on Monday with the bad wheel.
He did make the start after being limited in the shootaround, but the Bulls will continue to monitor Markkanen moving forward, according to Boylen.
