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Bulls' Doug McDermott Returns To Non-Contact Work As He Recovers From Concussion

(CBS) Bulls third-year forward Doug McDermott has returned to non-contact work and shooting drills as he continues to recover from a concussion suffered on Nov. 12.

McDermott missed the entirety of the team's recent six-game road trip as he continued to display concussion symptoms, and he's now gradually improving by being past those symptoms, coach Fred Hoiberg said. His availability for Wednesday's home game against the Lakers is still unclear, though.

"He did the dummy portion of practice, went through our script offense segment, got some shots up before and is now getting some shots up after," Hoiberg said Monday after practice. "We won't know about tomorrow until we see how he responds to today's workload."

McDermott was injured in a win against the Wizards on Nov. 12 when he took a hard fall upon being fouled by Markieff Morris, hitting his head on the floor. It marked McDermott's second time in the league's concussion protocol this season, as

A key reserve off the bench, McDermott is averaging 10.6 points on 51 percent shooting in nine games this season. As he and Michael Carter-Williams have been sidelined -- and with starter Rajon Rondo banged up for a few games -- the Bulls' bench struggled on multiple occasions in what was a strong 4-2 road trip.

"It's great for him, just to get some normalcy back in his life, to be around the guys," Hoiberg said of McDermott being around the team after remaining in Chicago on the road trip. "He was in here (Sunday), got a little work in. It'll be nice to get him back out there for full contact when he's able."

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