Chicago Bulls: Is Zach LaVine better as a sixth man?

Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine has had an incredible season, but after a nice performance off the bench, is it time to think of him as a potential sixth man?

When the Chicago Bulls signed Zach LaVine to a 4-year, $78 million contract last summer, what did they have in mind for him? Obviously, they thought LaVine was worth the money and long-term commitment, but how do they view his role on the team going forward?

Before the most recent game against Minnesota, LaVine had missed the previous 5 games due to an ankle injury. In his first game back, LaVine came off the bench – something he hadn’t done all season long. According to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune, Coach Boylen says this is his standard procedure for players that miss time due to injury.

The Bulls would end up getting blown out, but LaVine actually had a pretty solid game. He scored an efficient 28 points in 26 minutes off the bench.

Even though LaVine was only coming off the bench because of his ankle injury, after a scoring performance like that, it confirmed what a lot of people already thought about LaVine.

With LaVine’s struggles on the defensive end of the court, some NBA fans have brought up the possibility of LaVine being at his best as a sixth man – someone who can come in, get buckets and not have to worry about much else. Jamal Crawford and Lou Williams are two well-known examples of players who have found success in this role.

Sidebar: some people don’t care about an individual player’s defensive rating. While I agree that it’s a metric that doesn’t tell the whole story, I still think it can help identify trends. With that being said, LaVine currently has the best defensive rating of his career. 

On the season, LaVine is averaging 23.9 points, 4.7 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game on 45.5 percent shooting from the field. Those are really good numbers. They’re actually similar to Lou Williams’ numbers from his best season (2017-18).

If you find yourself enamored with LaVine’s numbers on the season, remember to also look at some of the numbers that aren’t as flattering. His 3-point percentage (33.1) needs to improve if he wants to be a star in this league, and his turnovers (3.9 per game) need to come down ASAP.

Even though LaVine turns the ball over way too much, it’s important to look at why that’s happening. At first glance, a 1.20 assist to turnover ratio – LaVine’s career low – is pretty appalling, but his usage rate (30.9) is the highest of his career. He’s being asked to shoulder more of the offensive load than he ever has before.

To be clear, it’s perfectly fine that he’s being asked to lead the way on offense – that’s what he’s getting paid to do.

As LaVine gets older and gets used to being “the guy,” he’ll hopefully learn how to do so while taking care of the ball. The only turnovers that worry me are the sloppy, careless ones, but if he’s trying to make a play for his teammates and he loses control of the ball, then so be it. That type of turnover doesn’t worry me at all. Unfortunately, there seems to be a lot of turnovers that fall into the “sloppy and careless” category. That needs to change.

The bottom line is LaVine has far too much talent (and potential) to be thought of as someone who can only be effective when scoring in bunches off the bench. Could he have a future as a sixth man? Absolutely, but Bulls fans need to remember that he’s only 23 years old.

Rather than putting effort into trying to discern whether or not LaVine is better coming off the bench, all effort should be put into developing him as an overall player so he can be the star that Chicago needs.

Thinking of LaVine as a sixth man puts a ceiling on him that he doesn’t deserve. He’s one of the best young players in the league, and he’s only getting better.