Chicago Bulls: 3 players Zach LaVine is making better this season

3) Chicago Bulls players that LaVine is making better

Thaddeus Young, Forward

Of the three Bulls players on this list that LaVine is elevating so far this season, this is the one that actually is a mutually beneficial exchange to the utmost degree. Veteran forward Thaddeus Young is enjoying his most efficient season in a good while now. He’s improved a huge amount over what he showed last year, during his inaugural run with the Bulls.

Young is by far the best Bulls player coming off the bench so far this season. And there’s a good argument that exists that Young is the second most productive player for the Bulls this season throughout the entire rotation. He’s taking his game back to the level he was at (and in some cases above) with the likes of the Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, Indiana Pacers, etc.

He is second on the team in most of the all-encompassing advanced metric categories (box plus/minus, player efficiency rating, win shares per 48 minutes, etc.) and is in the top three in field goal percentage. The number of assists that Young is averaging per game is also more than doubling his previous career best (4.4 per game this season).

Through 29 games played this season, Young has also averaged 11.9 points per game, 5.9 rebounds, 1.4 steals, and 0.5. blocks. And he’s shot 60.2 percent from the field, 22.7 percent from beyond the arc, and 48.8 percent from the free-throw line.

The two-man lineup combination of Young and LaVine has also become lethal this season. That two-man combination of Young and LaVine has the Bulls registering a five percent better effective field goal percentage net per 100 possessions, 9.4 more points, 3.5 more rebounds, and five more assists.