Projecting Chicago Bulls rotation for regular season
Starting shooting guard: Zach LaVine
The former UCLA Bruin and the 6-foot-6 and 200 pound 25-year-old standout shooting guard LaVine had another career year last season with the Bulls. He was snubbed from getting his first career All-Star selection, when the All-Star Weekend festivities were held at the home of the Bulls at the United Center in Chicago, despite having a solid season.
LaVine is the face of this Bulls starting five right now, as he is definitely the closest thing this team has to a star entering the 2020-21 regular season. He’s likely to be the highest usage player out of the gates once again, and get around 34-36 minutes per game just like he did last season.
The main question mark at shooting guard for the Bulls will be who backs up LaVine. Temple could get that role at the outset of the season, with Valentine challenging for minutes early on.
During the shortened 2019-20 regular season, LaVine played in 60 games for the Bulls (all of which he started in). And he averaged 25.5 points per game, 4.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.5 blocks. LaVine shot 45.0 percent from the field, 38.0 percent from beyond the arc, and 80.2 percent from the free-throw line.
What also bodes well for the direction LaVine’s game is trending in is the fact that he continued to improve his defensive efficiency bit by bit last season.
Basketball-Reference projects LaVine to average 25.6 points per 36 minutes, 5.1 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.5 blocks, during the 2020-21 season. And he’s projected to shoot 45.9 percent from the field, 38.2 percent from beyond the arc, and 81.6 percent from the free-throw line.