Bulls to get Otto Porter Jr. back from foot fracture

CHICAGO -- After dealing with a boatload of injuries, the Chicago Bullswill have a familiar face back in the lineup on Monday night against Dallas.

Otto Porter Jr. is set to play after being sidelined with a left foot fracture since Nov. 6.

Although he has missed 51 total games, Porter said there wasn't any consideration given to missing the full season even though there are just 22 games remaining.

"I've been out 17 weeks, so I'm not really worried about resting my foot or anything," Porter said. "I'm 100 percent, so all of that goes out the window."

Bulls coach Jim Boylen also confirmed that Zach LaVine is doubtful against Dallas with a left quad strain, while Wendell Carter Jr. returns to the starting lineup.

Both Carter and Porter will be under a minutes restriction, according to Boylen.

Porter could play anywhere from 16 to 20 minutes, depending on how the game shakes out.

"We'll try to give him as good of a run as we can and see how he feels," Boylen said. "There's two things inside a minute restriction. There's the duration of the segment and the total minutes, so we kind of serve both of those."

In the nine games that Porter played, he averaged 11.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists. Boylen said he remained professional in his absence while staying engaged with his teammates.

"Otto's a professional. He's a tough-minded guy," Boylen said. "He was locked in, he was in our meetings, he was in our film sessions. He communicates on the bench. Otto's a pro. He's been through it. He's one of our captains, and he's operated like that."

He's now ready to hoop. Porter lists energy and leadership as the ways he can help the team during this final stretch of the regular season.

Chicago was 1-8 in February for a .111 winning percentage, the worst in the NBA for the month.

"I didn't know when it first happened that it was a broken bone or anything," Porter said, "so our doctors were doing everything to get answers and stuff and finally found out what the problem was, so that kind of helped me mentally to make a comeback."

Lauri Markkanen (right pelvis) was assigned to the Windy City Bulls of the G League for Monday's noon practice but will be recalled right after.

"He feels good about that, we feel good about that, and we'll see how he comes through," Boylen said of Markkanen.