Bulls expect Lauri Markkanen to make season debut tonight in Houston

The Chicago Bulls announced Saturday that Lauri Markkanen is probable to return tonight from an elbow injury that has kept him sidelined for nine weeks.

The former Arizona Wildcats standout is set to make his season debut on the road against the Houston Rockets on Saturday at 6 p.m. Markkanen suffered a right elbow sprain on Sept. 27, during the first week of training camp for the 2018-19 season. His timetable was set at six to eight weeks.

UPDATE: @MarkkanenLauri has been upgraded to probable for tonight’s game against Houston. pic.twitter.com/VIDYY4Guu3

— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) December 1, 2018

Markkanen ditched his elbow brace in late October and returned to full-contact practice Tuesday, reportedly pain free. Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said Markkanen added 15 pounds of muscle in the offseason before his injury, and was quicker, stronger and more explosive.

The 7-foot, 240-pound Finnish forward last year became the first Bulls rookie since Elton Brand in 2000 to score at least 1,000 points and grab 500 rebounds in a season. Markkanen was Chicago's first pick in the 2017 draft, seventh overall, and averaged 15.2 points and 7.5 rebounds in 29.7 minutes per game last season.

Markkanen will have to mesh with Zach LaVine, who's been the team's leading scorer (24.8 ppg) through 23 games this season in which the Bulls are 5-18. Hoiberg doesn't anticipate that being a problem.

LaVine had reconstructive knee surgery to repair a torn ACL in February 2017, and played in just 24 games in his first season with the Bulls last year after sitting out much of the second half with what the teams called knee tendinitis. 

Hoiberg told the Chicago Tribune that he looks forward to using Markkanen and LaVine on the floor at the same time.

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“The thing about Lauri is he’s obviously a very unselfish player,” Hoiberg said. “But just what he can provide as far as spacing the floor and the attention he can draw, I think it’s going to help everybody. Having another skilled player who can score from all over the court is very important for what we’ll be trying to do.”

Here's a glance at Chicago's upcoming schedule:

Saturday, Dec. 1: at Houston Rockets, 6 p.m. MT

Tuesday, Dec. 4: at Indiana Pacers, 5 p.m. MT

Friday, Dec. 7: vs. Oklahoma City Thunder, 6 p.m. MT

Saturday, Dec. 8: vs. Boston Celtics, 6 p.m. MT

Monday, Dec. 10: vs. Sacramento Kings, 6 p.m. MT