Bulls' Portis to miss 4-6 weeks with knee injury

Chicago Bulls power forward Bobby Portis will miss four-to-six weeks after suffering a sprained right MCL during Wednesday's win over the Charlotte Hornets, the team announced Thursday.

The injury occurred in the fourth quarter when Tony Parker fell into Portis' right leg.

It's another significant blow to a Chicago team that's started the season 1-3. The Bulls are already without forward Lauri Markkanen indefinitely due to an elbow injury, and Portis was filling starter's minutes in Markkanen's absence. On Tuesday, point guard Kris Dunn was ruled out of action for four-to-six weeks due to an MCL sprain of his own.

Portis had injected his usual energy into the Bulls' starting five and was averaging a double-double. With him on the shelf, Chicago will likely start Jabari Parker at the four while leaning more heavily on rookie big man Wendell Carter Jr., Robin Lopez, and Cristiano Felicio, who just returned from an ankle injury.