Zach LaVine out again, Lonzo Ball update

The Chicago Bulls will be without Zach LaVine again on Thursday evening.

After his strong start to the season, LaVine suffered an adductor strain in the team's win over the Orlando Magic on October 30. While he played through the issue in the following game against Brooklyn, the Bulls shut him out ahead of their matchup with the Utah Jazz.

There seemed to be some optimism that the two-time All-Star would only miss a single game. He entered the Bulls' away game against the Dallas Mavericks as questionable, but the Bulls ruled him out again shortly before the game began.

Now, less than 24 hours later, LaVine is trending in the wrong direction.

Bulls Without Zach LaVine vs. T-Wolves

The Bulls downgraded LaVine's injury status to doubtful ahead of their matchup against the Timberwolves on Thursday. He was officially ruled out a little less than two hours before the game began. The move also comes after Billy Donovan expressed optimism that LaVine could return to Chicago Sports Network's KC Johnson. Instead, Chicago's leading scorer will miss his third straight game.

The good news is that LaVine could be in line for a return this week. Donovan told reporters that he only felt a slight sense of tension and was not suffering from a strain or pull. His next chance to take the floor will be Saturday against the Atlanta Hawks.

As for Lonzo Ball, today marks his 10-day re-evaluation period. We should get a more concrete update on his status in the near future, but KC Johnson has noted that he continues to wear a brace. The Bulls will approach any Ball injury with great caution as he hopes to continue his comeback season. But this particular injury apparently also ended up being a very close call, according to Johnson.

Ball told the media last week that surgery may have been necessary if he had continued to play with the injury. In that case, the Bulls will want to make sure his wrist is back to 100 percent strength before throwing him back to the floor.