1. Zach LaVine, Shooting Guard
While the Chicago Bulls really need improved play out of both Hutch and Sato in the near future this season, especially in the absence of Porter Jr., there is one player that really sticks out above the rest. The uber-athletic 24-year-old shooting guard Zach LaVine hasn’t even come close to living up to the billing after his breakthrough last season.
In reality, both LaVine and third-year power forward Lauri Markkanen need to show ample progression and quick. If not, it might be time to press the panic button since the two core pieces of this rebuild for the Bulls will need to potentially have another breakdown within the next year or two. LaVine and Markkanen can’t be down to this degree for as long as they have been to start the season.
That volume scoring and empty stat sheet filler image that LaVine had pressed upon him by most NBA fans outside of the Windy City is something that he is actually fitting into this season. He’s on pace to post a career-high in turnovers per game (3.5) and his assist numbers are down from last season. His shooting numbers are trending in the wrong direction too.
It seems like there’s an extremely long way to go for LaVine to get close to that premier scorer and offensive talent label in the Eastern Conference that some anticipated him to earn this season. He needs to make smarter decisions and not always force tough shots. He’s got a lot more reliable offensive weapons surrounding him in the rotation than he did over the course of the last two seasons.