Chicago Bulls: Win over Pelicans confirms Zach LaVine’s All-Star status

There’s no doubt about it: Zach LaVine is an All-Star. Last night’s dominant performance made that clearer than it’s ever been before when he helped the Chicago Bulls topple their opposition.

In a 129-116 win over the New Orleans Pelicans, LaVine caught on fire scoring 46 points on 12-of-25 from the field and 9-14 from three-point range. And 20 of those points came in the first quarter alone.

All the Pelicans could do was sit back and watch as LaVine took and made whatever shot he wanted.  Whether it was behind the arc or in the paint, there was no stopping him.

The craziest part is that this isn’t anything new. LaVine has been on fire all season long, averaging 28.2 points per game (fifth in the NBA), 5.3 assists and 5.3 rebounds, on an absurd 51.8 percent shooting from the field. All of those numbers are career highs for the 25 year old.

In the NBA, it’s extremely rare to see players scoring at such a high rate while remaining so efficient. Especially as a guard, where a large percentage of shots come from behind the arc.

So far, LaVine has managed to do the impossible and score with extreme efficiency.

Amongst the top five scorers in the league, LaVine has the second highest field goal percentage. The only player in front of him is Joel Embiid (54.7 FG%), a center who gets the majority of his shots at the rim.

In fact, the last guard to score 28+ points across a season and shoot above 50 FG% was Stephen Curry in 2015-2016, a season where he unanimously won his second MVP award.

That’s not to say that LaVine is in the MVP conversation, clearly the 10-14 Bulls would need to be doing far better for him to be getting any serious consideration. It is obvious though that he’s one of the top guards in the league right now, and is absolutely an All-Star.

What LaVine is doing for the Chicago Bulls

Watching him pull up from behind the arc is something completely special. He steps up with such confidence that you know the shot is going to fall, and so does he. The way he caught fire from deep last night was a site to behold.

Few players have ever played as well as LaVine is playing right now. He and Coby White teamed up to break records last night, becoming the first pair of teammates to each hit 8 or more threes in a game.

Just a reminder that this is a guy who tore his ACL in 2017 and was thought to never be the same again. Now, he’s doing this.

Zach LaVine is something special, and is absolutely an All-Star.