Zach LaVine is one of the best young players in the NBA. LaVine always had that fire and talent but he just keeps getting better at both ends of the court and expanding on it, he is a true student of the game. You saw that in the Tokyo Olympics when he played great defense. This happened because he no longer had to use all his energy scoring to keep his team competitive. The star guard turned that switch on because he’s a dog and the moment/situation allowed him to. The Bulls just got a supporting cast around him and he’s thrived, leading them to an 8-3 record at press time.
LaVine asked the team’s front office for help and they delivered, signing Lonzo Ball and trading for DeMar DeRozan. Chicago’s culture changed, they’re fun to watch again and a deep playoff run is not out of the question. The Bulls can contend, Ball gives them their first true point guard since Derrick Rose in 2016. This is not that same Lonzo Ball from the Lakers. Unlike Ben Simmons, he worked hard to become a real shooter. Lonzo changed his form and it’s showing this season, as he’s shooting 44.7 percent from 3-point range in 11 games so far.
“He’s one helluva shooter. We had it scouted last year. He was shooting above 40 percent from 3 until he hurt himself at the end of the year. If you’re shooting above 40 on eight attempts, you’re a really knockdown shooter. That’s a part of his game that teams are really going to have to respect. And if not, they’re going to get their head cracked like they did tonight,” LaVine told K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago after Lonzo Ball’s preseason debut earlier this month.
It's just so effortless@NBCSChicago | @ZachLaVine pic.twitter.com/iO8vjW9KMk
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) November 11, 2021
LaVine’s All-Time Bulls Starting Five
Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated asked LaVine to name his all-time Bulls starting five last year and he picked himself, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Derrick Rose and Pau Gasol. He went with Derrick Rose at point guard, himself at shooting guard, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen as forwards and Pau Gasol at center.
Rose averaged 19.7 points and 6.2 assists in 406 games over seven seasons with the Bulls and he is in the top 10 in franchise history in both points and assists. He is also the youngest NBA MVP in league history.
Derrick Rose won the award at the age of 22 during the 2010-11 season after averaging 25.0 points, 7.7 assists and 4.1 rebounds in 37.4 minutes over 81 games.
LaVine has played like an All-Star for a while. The two-time NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion had a career year in the 2020-21 season, averaging 27.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.9 assists while shooting 50.7 percent from the field and 41.9 percent from 3-point range in 35.1 minutes over 58 games.
It’s hard to believe that Michael Jordan, to me the best basketball player of all-time, was cut from high school team as a sophomore but it really happened. Just a few years later, North Carolina claimed the 1982 national championship after MJ made the game-winning jumper against Georgetown. This was the beginning of Jordan’s legend. Air Jordan won six NBA championships in six trips to the NBA Finals with the Bulls, along with eight scoring titles, five regular season MVP awards, six NBA Finals MVP awards, three NBA All-Star game MVPs and one Defensive Player of the Year award.
Michael Jordan established a record by making the NBA’s All-Defensive First Team nine times and he was a 14-time NBA All-Star and a former NBA Rookie of the Year (1985). Jordan averaged 31.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.4 assists in 930 games over 13 seasons with the Bulls. Pippen was the perfect sidekick to Jordan, averaging 17.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.1 steals in 856 games over 12 seasons with the Bulls. Jordan and Pippen rank first and second respectively in Bulls franchise history in games played, minutes played, field goals and points.
Pau Gasol played 150 games for the Bulls over two seasons and averaged 17.6 points, 11.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists while making two All-Star teams. LaVine should have taken Dennis Rodman over Gasol but I can understand that his lineup would have lacked size.
