It was Zach LaVine’s told-you-so moment.
The Bulls guard was discussing his second 40-plus-point outburst over the last three games on Sunday, as well as what he’s been doing since his left knee was back to feeling like 100%, and insisted, “I told you once I got healthy I’d get back to playing the way I was supposed to. It takes time to get back to full strength. I feel I’ve been playing well.’’
He undoubtedly has.
LaVine looks every bit the part of a two-time All-Star.
Over his last 10 games — his best 10-game stretch of the season — LaVine was averaging just under 29 points per game, and doing so efficiently by shooting 51.6% from the field and 42.9% from three-point range. His assist average dipped over that time, but veteran Patrick Beverley doesn’t want LaVine play-making anyway, and he does have two five-turnover games in that time, but that’s nitpicking.
As is the fact that the Bulls have a 3-7 record while LaVine has been “playing the way I was supposed to,’’ and continued sinking out of even a spot in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament.
A deeper dive into LaVine’s last 10 games? Against the likes of playoff-bound franchises like Phoenix, Toronto, Washington, Milwaukee, Cleveland and Brooklyn, LaVine’s scoring average was just 24 points per game.
To be fair, Cleveland, Phoenix, Milwaukee and Toronto are all in the top 10 in handcuffing opposing teams from a points allowed standpoint, evident by LaVine only averaging 21.3 points per game in those four games.
Again, nitpicking.
After all, five 40-plus-point games so far this season was beyond impressive for LaVine. Sure, four of them have come against teams ranked in the bottom seven of the league in defense — including twice against the 15-49 Pistons — but let’s not ruin the moment.
That’s why there’s no reason to bring up the fact that LaVine ranked ninth on the team in clutch scoring field-goal percentage (36.1%) — defined by the NBA as the last five minutes of a game that’s within five points — behind the likes of Ayo Dosunmu, Alex Caruso, and Goran Dragic, who is no longer even with the team.
That would be negative.
So what if the Bulls entered Monday tied with the Pistons with the third-fewest clutch wins this season, sporting an unhealthy 11-22 record in those situations? Yes, when DeMar DeRozan was the clear closer for the Bulls last year, they were 25-16 in clutch situations, but DeRozan wasn’t exactly delivering this season, either.
Then again, DeRozan was no longer paid to carry the franchise at 33 years old.
There’s almost 10 million reasons why the torch should have been passed from DeRozan to LaVine over the summer, which is the current pay difference between the two now that LaVine was made a max contract guy.
Next year, it will go up to an almost $12 million difference.
No worries. The Bulls can always hope that LaVine morphs into an elite two-way player in Year 10, catapulting them up in the Eastern Conference. That’s what the highest-paid player on the team was supposed to do.
First-place Milwaukee has Giannis Antetokounmpo ($42.4 million this season), Boston has two-way All-Star Jayson Tatum ($30 million), and third-place Philadelphia has Joel Embiid, who will surpass Tobias Harris next season when his extension jumps way up to $46.9 million for the 2023-24 campaign.
The Bulls have LaVine, and his belief that with 17 games left his 29-36 team can still make some noise.
“You’re not going to go out there and say the season is over with,’’ LaVine said after the Pacers loss. “I don’t know how you guys [in the media] think, but we don’t think that way.’’
Good, now prove it.
