CLEVELAND – It hasn’t been the smoothest 2022-23 campaign for Zach LaVine so far.
The Bulls guard had his offseason regiment thrown off after a clean-up surgery on his left knee, came into the regular season dealing with a load management schedule because of that knee, had some rough on-the-court moments, and was even benched by coach Billy Donovan in the finals minutes in a loss to Orlando.
And while the Bulls guard is never one to be short with the media, there have been some instances where he’s been almost defiant with the line of questioning.
On Monday he took a much different approach, instead being very introspective when it came to discussing the criticisms of his defense.
It started as a simple question about the likelihood if he could ever return to the player that was sporting a career-best 103.4 defensive rating through the first 15 games of last season.
He knew that rating number well, saying “103.4’’ as the question was being asked.
The number he didn’t want to be as acquainted with? The 115.8 defensive rating he came into the Cavaliers game with, which was the second-worst on the team with only Goran Dragic (118.3) lower.
The criticism of LaVine hasn’t been his on-the-ball defense or his effort at the start of possessions, as much as letting up far too often as the possession goes on. A criticism he was willing to take “on the chin.’’
“That might just be finishing plays as well as the possession goes on,’’ LaVine told the Sun-Times. “Getting a rebound, one more contest, one more rotation, one more effort … and you know, you can take that on the chin and say, ‘Yeah, there’s been possessions where if I have to make that last rotation, I have to give a better effort toward that.’ That’s something I do have to be better at.’’
Not just because he carries that max contract designation on his back, either.
LaVine remained very consistent with the approach that there was no added pressure with the five-year, $215-million max deal he signed in July. It’s not about improving his effort on defense because of the new tax bracket, as much as it’s improving it for his teammates.
The Sun-Times, as well as other media outlets, reported that the spark in that Dec. 18 halftime locker room incident in Minnesota had in large part to do with LaVine’s lack of communication on defense and finishing out possessions.
The frustration was his teammates knew he had more to give in that department.
LaVine showed with Team USA in the summer of 2021 that he can lock-down opposing players, and then he carried that mentality into the start of last season. The numbers backed his play, but when the left knee began to act up in early December, the defense dropped off.
With his knee concerns currently in the rear view mirror, it’s about getting back to that guy that was holding up a gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics.
“I don’t look at defensive rating because a lot of other numbers impact it,’’ LaVine said. “It’s like plus/minus. If you’re on a good team, your plus/minus is going to be high. If you’re on a bad team your plus/minus is going to be low. That’s just the way it is. I go on how I’m playing.
“Obviously, I always feel good on the ball [defensively]. If I’m active, getting in passing lanes, making the right rotations, I’m locked in on that side of the ball, and that’s how I judge. I feel like I’ve been a lot better and I need to continue to focus on that. At the end of the day, I’ve got to do my job down there just like everyone else on that side of the ball. I’ve got to take care of business.’’
