Bulls' Gibson out vs. Rockets with fractured rib
A fractured rib will keep Chicago Bulls forward Taj Gibson on the sidelines Thursday when his team visits the Toyota Center to take on the Houston Rockets.
This marks the second game of the season Gibson will miss due to injury. He wasn't in uniform March 2 against the Orlando Magic because of a mild hamstring strain.
While Gibson isn't sure when he'll be able to return to action, he assured the media that he's "without a doubt" going to play again this season.
The 30-year-old big man was made aware of the fracture following Monday's narrow 102-100 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. He wound up playing a touch over 10 minutes the following night against the Indiana Pacers because "I love my team and my coach."
Taj: "The fracture wasn’t even hard to spot on the X-ray. The doctors were like, ‘Are you OK?’ I’m like, ‘I’m fine. We got a game tomorrow.’
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) March 31, 2016
In 73 games this season, Gibson is averaging 8.6 points and 6.9 rebounds on 52.5 percent shooting. He was inserted into the starting frontcourt alongside Pau Gasol once center Joakim Noah went down with a shoulder injury.