Bulls
No wonder he wore a smile Thursday morning at the Pepsi Center, even though he also wore a brace on the sprained thumb that sidelined him Thursday night against the Nuggets.
“It went from (missing) six to eight weeks to now day to day,” Carter said. “So that’s definitely a relief for sure.”
It’s also a relief for the Bulls, who started Bobby Portis in Carter’s place. Wednesday’s MRI exam showed Carter’s ligament is largely intact, and the rookie center even tested it at the morning shootaround.
“I’m looking at Saturday for sure,” Carter said about playing versus the Heat at the United Center. “Just get in some really good treatment these next couple days and I should be fine.”
Carter said adrenaline helped him finish the Lakers game after he suffered the injury in the first half when he tripped over Tyson Chandler.
“When it happened, it was, ‘Oh, I just jammed my thumb, I’ll be fine,’ ” Carter said. “As the game went on, it stiffened up a little bit and it started swelling up and hurting really bad where I couldn’t even make a fist. After the game, it swelled up really, really bad and started hurting.
“I was kind of scared honestly that I wouldn’t be out there for my team. It looked bad in terms of so many people have gotten injured this year, and it would be another one. I’m glad it wasn’t true, but it was definitely weighing on my mind that whole night.”
That the prospect of being out for so long scared Carter is also why he remains upbeat about the rest of his rookie season.
“We’re all competitors,” Carter said. “We don’t want to lose, but I feel like most of us get the bigger picture. We’re trying to build something here, and during the build, we don’t want to lose of course, but we’re going to get things right.”
PREVIOUS ARTICLE
