Chicago Bulls: Zach LaVine right to fire back at critics

A shooting guard with two-way star potential for the Chicago Bulls that could truly breakthrough on that end this season is Zach LaVine.

Four games into the five-game preseason schedule for the Chicago Bulls, two players on this roster stick out above the rest. Both are mostly for their efforts on the offensive end of the floor. Rookie point guard Coby White and potential budding star shooting guard Zach LaVine put on a show for the Bulls in the preseason so far. The efforts from White and LaVine also guided the Bulls to their first preseason win to cap the weekend on Oct. 13 on the road at the Air Canada Centre against the Toronto Raptors.

Yet, LaVine was pretty vocal about his intentions and expectations for the coming regular season since the start of Training Camp. Between voicing expectations of a potential All-Star season and just getting the Bulls in the win column more often, there should be a heightened standard of success for LaVine this year.

In a recent interview with LaVine from The Athletic and Bulls reporter Darnell Mayberry, he opened up on the perception of his defense around the NBA and basketball fans.  He wanted people to “stop talking [crap]” (to put it nicely) about his defensive abilities nowadays.

LaVine also spoke his mind on how he thinks he is a very solid on-ball defender. Granted the on-ball defense is usually not as criticized as far as LaVine goes compared to off-ball movement and awareness.

Tying a career-high in defensive rating at 115 and posting a career-best number of defensive win shares at 1.1 proves that LaVine is making steady improvements on that end of the floor. He also has four total steals and around five defensive rebounds per game in three preseason outings so far. There’s more effort there than usual in the preseason on defense for LaVine.

The fact that LaVine is a serious breakout candidate that could be a first-time All-Star selection means that he should take this progression on defense and pretty insane offensive skill set and run with it. Ignore the outside voices that throw shade on what LaVine is doing right now and keep taking this Bulls team to the next level.

The preseason finale for LaVine and the Bulls comes on Oct. 16 against the upstart Atlanta Hawks. This team has a 1-3 record heading into the final game of this five-game preseason slate. And LaVine will open the regular season with the Bulls against the Charlotte Hornets on the road at the Spectrum Center on Oct. 23. For the time being, LaVine should continue his journey to rounding out his game to become a two-way stud as he enters his prime years this season.