Can Bulls Survive Carlos Boozer's Absence?

Carlos Boozer is expected to miss eight weeks after fracturing a bone in his right hand on Saturday. He will have surgery on Tuesday to have pins inserted. Boozer suffered the injury while at his home, telling reporters on Monday that he landed awkwardly on his hand after tripping over his bag.

"I came around a corner, trying to get to the front door," Boozer said. "I tripped over the bag I used for training camp and fell on my hand with all of my weight. Just crushed the bone."

Boozer fractured the fifth metacarpal -- a bone near his pinkie finger -- of his right hand. This type of injury is also known as a "boxer's fracture," since it's frequently caused by a clenched fist hitting a hard object -- in this case, the floor. As Boozer explained, he likely could have avoided injury had he fallen with an open hand.

"If I had landed with my hand open it probably would have been fine," he said, as quoted by Bulls.com. "But my right hand got turned over and that caused the break. It was a little sore. I went to the bathroom and it was like when you hit your funny bone on your elbow. It took a little longer to come around and when it did I saw a little bump and got it checked."

X-rays confirmed the fracture -- and the unfortunate news that the Chicago Bulls' biggest offseason acquisition would start the season on the sideline. Boozer, who turns 29 on Nov. 20, is no stranger to injury, having missed 146 games over his eight-year career. But he missed just four games in 2009-10, and both he and his new coach refuse to be discouraged by such a fluke injury.

"One hundred percent, the oddest way (I've been injured)," Boozer said.

"You hate to lose a guy like that, but it's also part of the NBA," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "You have injuries, but we have good depth. We have several guys who have started in the league. We'll just have the next guy step up and move forward."

Boozer averaged 19.5 points in 11.2 rebounds last year for Utah. He'll be replaced in the lineup by second-year forward Taj Gibson, who started 70 games as a rookie while averaging 9.0 points and 7.5 rebounds.

"Right now, Taj (Gibson) will be in his place," Thibodeau said of Boozer. "Defensively, we're not going to change at all. Offensively, we may change a little bit in terms of how we're going to get the ball into the paint."

Assuming the eight-week prognosis holds true, Boozer will miss at least the first 15 games of the regular season. Unfortunately for the Bulls, that stretch includes 10 games against opponents that finished with a winning record last season, and nine games on the road -- including seven straight to finish November as the team heads west on their annual "circus trip".

Even if Boozer is healthy enough to return in December, all of the November travel means practice time will be at a premium for the Bulls, making it all the more worrisome how quickly Boozer, who will have missed the entire preseason, will be able to establish on-court chemistry with his new teammates.

As the blog NBA Roundtable points out, the Bulls could easily be five games under .500 by the end of November, at which point they'll face the likes of the Orlando Magic, Boston Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Lakers in the first six games of December.

The Bulls have too much talent not to eventually find their groove at some point, but unless the team finds a way to overachieve not only in Boozer's absence but also immediately after his return, his injury may end up costing the Bulls when it comes to playoff seeding. Between the Miami Heat, Magic, Atlanta Hawks and Celtics (not to mention the upstart Milwaukee Bucks), the top of the East figures to be very competitive, and a few extra losses in November may be the difference between Chicago opening the playoffs at the United Center or on the road.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.