DeMar DeRozan is weighing load management as the Chicago Bulls star tries to play through a painful right leg injury

In the final two minutes of Monday’s loss to the Orlando Magic, Chicago Bulls star DeMar DeRozan asked to be taken off the court.

It was a rarity for DeRozan, who prides himself on his resilience after playing more than 90% of the possible games in his 14-year career.

But as DeRozan manages a lingering injury in his right leg, the All-Star has faced daily evaluations of whether it’s worth it to keep playing through the pain.

“It’s been bad, to be honest with you,” DeRozan said of the injury. “I’ve never been one to complain, but it’s just something I’ve been dealing with for a while.”

The source of the pain is something of a mystery — even to DeRozan himself. He said it dates to “10 games before the Boston game” on Jan. 11, which he exited with a strained right quadriceps.

When he first incurred the injury, DeRozan said he thought it was a bruised knee. He missed the next three games with the quad strain before returning to the lineup Jan. 19. DeRozan also sat out last Tuesday’s game in Memphis with a sore right hip.

This timeline means DeRozan has been playing through pain for eight weeks. Despite constant discomfort when he moves or engages his right leg, DeRozan said the source of the pain has not been identified as a tear, break or other tangible injury.

“It’s a weird feeling,” he said. “I’ve never felt nothing like this. When I’m sitting doing nothing, I don’t feel anything. It’s just when I do anything to work that muscle in my leg, it’s just a lot of discomfort.”

DeRozan said he’ll meet with the Bulls medical staff Tuesday to re-examine the cause of his discomfort. He wasn’t certain after Monday’s game if that would include an MRI or X-ray.

Despite continuing to lead the Bulls in scoring, DeRozan’s production has dipped since the injury. He averaged 18.2 points over his last six games, a severe drop-off from his season average of 25.5 points. DeRozan said the discomfort has impeded his ability to shoot.

“It’s been tough to get explosion on a lot of my shots and everything,” he said. “I’m just dealing with the discomfort of it, the pain, all that. Ain’t no excuse for me. I’m going to figure it out one way or another. As soon as I get back to myself, the rhythm part will come.”

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The Bulls play back-to-back games Wednesday in Indiana and Thursday at home against the Milwaukee Bucks before heading into the All-Star break. DeRozan said he isn’t worried about the All-Star Game and still plans to participate in this weekend’s festivities in Salt Lake City.

DeRozan said it’s “too soon” to make a decision on sitting out either game this week, but he didn’t immediately shrug off the idea — a change of pace from his typically dogged desire to play every game.

Barring a serious injury, the decision to play will come down to DeRozan. The veteran said the medical and coaching staffs have given him agency to decide how much discomfort he can handle in any given game.

“It’s just a trust factor,” DeRozan said. “If something’s not broke or torn or something, I’m going to figure out how to go out there and play every single night. It’s all about the tolerance of how much I can deal with, and they trust me with it.”