The Chicago Bulls are in need of a point guard who can make plays on offense. Is Zach LaVine the answer to their primary ball handler issues?
This is no hidden secret, but the Chicago Bulls are in dire need of a point guard who can positively affect the game on the offensive end of the court.
When the Bulls traded Jimmy Butler to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Lauri Markkanen, Zach LaVine and Kris Dunn, there was a ton of uncertainty surrounding which one of these guys, if any, could be future pieces for the team to build around.
Lauri Markkanen has progressed much faster and better than almost everyone expected. He’s safe. He’ll be a Bull for a long time.
Zach LaVine had a tough time getting going last season after returning from his ACL injury, but this season, he’s been much better. His offensive game is really good. I’m sick of the narrative that LaVine’s only putting up good numbers because he’s on a bad team. He’s a legitimate offensive weapon and would be on any team. Defense is where he struggles.
LaVine’s not a terrible on-ball defender, but he’s bad at team defense. He often gets lost on backdoor cuts or doesn’t make the correct rotations within the team’s scheme. There’s hope for LaVine on defense, though. He’s quick enough and strong enough to hang with the best offensive players in the league, it just feels like the attention to detail is missing. I’m expecting his ability to play team defense will improve as he gets older.
I digress. Let’s move on.
Kris Dunn (the third piece in the infamous Jimmy Butler trade) has had a tough time proving himself to Bulls fans as he’s been unable to find any sort of consistency on the offensive end. He’s solid on defense, he has a nice frame for a point guard and he’s a hard-worker. Unfortunately, that’s not enough to be a starting point guard in the NBA.
The point guard is the most important position in basketball. Unless you have a once-in-a-generation type talent on your team, you need to have an elite point guard to be competitive, and that point guard needs to be able to knock down shots. Kris Dunn hasn’t been able to do that.
LaVine’s eye-opening play as of late is starting to make Bulls fans wonder if they have a potential replacement for Dunn on the roster already.
This month, LaVine is averaging 25 points per game on an extremely efficient 54.7 percent shooting from the field and 42.9 percent shooting from 3-point land. Even better than his efficient scoring during this stretch, though, has been his superb playmaking. He’s averaging 5.6 assists and 1.6 turnovers per game. Those are astonishing numbers for a guy like LaVine, who was once touted as an inefficient, score-first two-guard.
Watch LaVine command the pick-and-roll as he patiently waits for the roll-man to get open before delivering a pinpoint pass.
Like LaVine, Dunn has solid court vision and is a good passer, but Dunn’s lack of ability to score the ball makes it hard for the defense to respect him. When LaVine comes off the screen, the defense is so focused on trying to contain him that they leave the roll-man just open enough for LaVine to thread the needle.
If the Bulls were to try playing Zach at the point guard position, it wouldn’t mean that he has to become a less aggressive scorer. Scoring will always be LaVine’s best ability, but other score-first point guards like Damian Lillard have made a fine career off of that style of play.
There are no guarantees that the Bulls would be better off with LaVine as the primary ballhandler, but why not test the waters? What do they have to lose?
Ever since trading for Otto Porter Jr., the Bulls’ floor spacing has improved by leaps and bounds. Rolling LaVine out at the point guard position would only continue to improve that spacing.
A five-man lineup consisting of LaVine, Wayne Selden Jr., Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Porter and Markkanen might be the most versatile and explosive offensive combination the Bulls have. There’s only one way to find out.