Bulls' Boozer undergoes surgery on broken finger
Chicago Bulls’ forward Carlos Boozer underwent successful surgery on his broken pinkie finger Tuesday morning. Boozer, one of the key free-agent additions of the off-season for the Bulls, is expected to miss between six and eight weeks in order to recover
from the surgery.
"From what we heard, it went well," said Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau of the surgery. "So we're encouraged by that, and now it's just a matter of him going through his rehab."
Boozer injured the finger in an odd way Saturday morning, apparently tripping over a bag in his house. According to Boozer’s Twitter account, the surgery went well and rehabilitation begins immediately.
"Had a successful surgery this morning. Now gonna attack my rehab,” Boozer tweeted shortly after the operation.
Boozer, who has made the play-offs the past four seasons with the Utah Jazz, could be out longer than expected, cautioned Thibodeau.
"It could be anywhere from six, eight, 10 weeks, so once he gets his cast off and all that, his conditioning should be OK because he can run and do all that stuff, but then his hand, he has to show that he has the ability to take a hit and all that," said
Thibodeau.
The reliable power-forward will be entering his ninth year in the NBA, having played for the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Utah Jazz before signing with the Bulls this summer. He owns regular-season averages of 14 points and 10 rebounds and play-off averages
of 20 points and 12.7 rebounds.
The Bulls signed Boozer to a five-year deal worth about $75 million. He should be a key addition to a promising Bulls team that includes All-Star point guard Derrick Rose and budding centre Joakim Noah.
The Bulls locked up Noah long-term on Monday, signing him to a five-year extension worth $60 million. He should see his playing time increase during Boozer’s absence.
Tags: