Chicago Bulls: 5 players to watch during the 2019 preseason

3. Zach LaVine, Shooting Guard

There’s not much more that the Chicago Bulls could hope for this season than a rise to true stardom for the ultra-athletic shooting guard Zach LaVine. But we have to see LaVine, and the rest of the projected starters for the Bulls, stay healthy throughout the three remaining preseason games.

The offense for the Bulls this season should mostly run through third-year power forward Lauri Markkanen and LaVine. Figuring out how they can both thrive on the floor together at the same time is a big looming task for Boylen this season. Markkanen and LaVine played in only roughly 60 games together for the past two seasons.

However, whether it be with the Bulls or the Minnesota Timberwolves, there is an identifiable trend concerning LaVine. In each of his five seasons in the NBA thus far, LaVine showed a spike in player efficiency rating in the preseason which usually correlated with a similar spike during the regular season.

The only season that didn’t happen is when LaVine tore up a bunch of ligaments in his knee during his final stint with the Timberwolves before he was dealt to the Bulls in that Jimmy Butler deal back in 2017. Seeing how LaVine is able to command the offense while taking more looks from downtown each game throughout the rest of the offseason will be interesting.