DeMar DeRozan Reveals He’s Been Playing Through Injury As Bulls Lose to Magic

• DeMar DeRozan has revealed he's been struggling with a hip injury
• The Chicago Bulls star exited the game against Orlando Magic with a minute left as they suffered a fourth straight defeat
• DeRozan is set to play in his sixth All-Star Game this weekend and is not ruling himself out yet

Chicago Bulls star DeMar DeRozan has revealed he's been playing with an injury after leaving the game against the Orlando Magic with a minute left to play.

The 33-year-old All-Star was listed on the injury report with a hip injury, which forced him to miss the Bulls' game against the Memphis Grizzlies last Monday.

He decided to play through it until it flared up late in the game. The soon-to-be 6x All-Star took himself out with 1:02 left in the game. He finished the game with 19 points on 8-of-20 shooting, but his team lost 100-91.

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DeRozan is having a decent season. He's averaging 25.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.1 assists this season. He is hoping to make his second straight All-Star appearance this weekend, according to SI.

DeRozan opens up on hip issue

The former Toronto Raptors star will undergo further tests to determine the extent of the injury. It comes at a time when his team is struggling for consistency. They have lost their last four games in a row.

"It was bothering me the whole game. I just felt it. I didn't want to risk nothing. Hurting it any more, what it was or anything. Just the accumulation of what it's been, attempting to play on it," via ESPN.

The six-time NBA champions play two games before the All-Star break and he isn't ruling himself out yet.

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"It's too early to say. I always take everything day by day," DeRozan said. "Get some rest, wake up, see how I feel tomorrow, get it checked out, get a better idea of what exactly it is, have a better idea of how to treat it and how to deal with it."

The Bulls have now fallen to 26-31 and into 11th place in the Eastern Conference

How Bryant inspired DeRozan

Sports Brief also reported on how Bryant inspired Chicago Bulls star, DeMar DeRozan who said without the late great, he wouldn't be playing basketball.

The guard said the late Laker star laid the foundation for him and everything DeRozan did in the sport was because of Bryant paving the way.

“My imagination and my foundation started from Kobe. Just watching him give me that imagination as a kid to want to shoot a fadeaway. To want to learn to pull up. To want to rock a ’fro. It started from that."