Chicago Bulls: One lofty goal for Zach LaVine next season

Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine gets better and better each season. Here’s one lofty goal for him to focus on next season.

The Chicago Bulls’ 2019-20 season is likely over. Even though it looks like the NBA will come back at some point this summer, it’s hard to imagine the Bulls will be a part of any major plans. Even if they are a part of the plans, their return will likely be short-lived.

So instead of focusing on the rest of this season, let’s focus on next season.

If the Bulls want to make any noise next year, Zach LaVine will have to take another step forward. He’s done that nearly every year of his professional career thus far, but he can’t get complacent. He needs to keep finding ways to improve.

Obviously, he needs to get better at playing team defense. He also needs to improve as a passer. But those are attainable goals to reach. Those are things he should be getting better at — no excuses. So let’s give Zach a lofty goal to shoot for. I mean, why not?

One lofty goal for Zach LaVine’s 2020-2021 season

LaVine had a really nice statistical season in 2019-20. He averaged 25.5 points per game on relatively efficient .450/.380/.802 shooting splits. But what if he could be even more efficient?

My lofty goal for Zach LaVine next season: Join the 50-40-90 club.

The 50-40-90 club is a small group of players who shot 50 percent from field goal range, 40 percent from 3-point range and 90 percent from the free-throw line in one season. It’s incredibly hard to do. The eight NBA players in the club:

• Larry Bird
• Malcolm Brogdon
• Stephen Curry
• Reggie Miller
• Kevin Durant
• Dirk Nowitzki
• Mark Price
• Steve Nash

Outside of Brogdon and Price, those are some of the best shooters to ever play the game of basketball. It’ll be tough for LaVine to get into the club, but that’s why it’s a lofty goal.

The first two necessary qualifications to be in the 50-40-90 club should actually be attainable for LaVine. As the Bulls’ offense improves (hopefully with a new head coach running things), his overall field goal percentage should increase. In 2019-20, he was often forced to jack up tough shots because nothing else was happening in the flow of the offense. The fact that he was able to shoot 45 percent from the field is actually quite impressive given the circumstances. If things improve on the team, there’s no reason he can’t bump that up to 50.

The same thing can be said about his 3-point shooting. LaVine had a career-season from 3-point land in 2019-20, and it was in a terrible offensive system. LaVine frequently found himself in situations where the team’s best offensive option was him chucking up a deep, contested three. If the Bulls’ offense can improve, LaVine’s 3-point numbers can improve also.

Shooting 90 percent from the free-throw line is where LaVine will likely have the most trouble. His best season-wide free-throw percentage was in his rookie year, where he shot 84.2 percent on a measly 2.3 attempts per game. Now, he’s shooting way more, and his percentage has dipped a bit.

In the 2019-20 season, LaVine shot 80.2 percent from the free-throw line. That’s not bad at all, but increasing that by 10 percent will be nearly impossible. But hey, weirder things have happened, right?

Do I think LaVine will join the 50-40-90 club next season? Of course not. But is it possible? Sure! It’s worth shooting for.