Chicago Bulls: Zach LaVine takes a backseat role in complete team win

A nice turnaround for the Chicago Bulls and first-year head coach Billy Donovan took place as this team snapped their two-game losing streak to round out the weekend. The Bulls hosted the shorthanded Toronto Raptors and star veteran point guard Kyle Lowry with a late tip off at the United Center on March 14.

With the Bulls very much needing a win to stay in the thick of playoff contention for a lower seed in the Eastern Conference, it was key to beat the Raptors to cap the weekend. And that’s exactly what the Bulls were able to do as Donovan saw his team come through with a complete effort in a solid 118-95 win over the Raptors to get their 17th win of the regular season.

It wasn’t the usual sources of production that the Bulls relied upon to get this double-digit win over the Raptors. Star shooting guard Zach LaVine mostly took a backseat role for the Bulls, despite playing in nearly 34 minutes in this game.

LaVine registered 15 points, six rebounds, three assists, one block, and three turnovers. And he shot just 4-of-10 from the field, 1-of-5 from beyond the arc, and 6-of-8 from the free-throw line. LaVine was also a +16 on the floor in this game for the Bulls, which was tops for any player from the starting five.

Which players stepped up for the Chicago Bulls

With LaVine not taking command of the Bulls offense in this win over the Raptors, who was the main source of the spark for this turnaround?

One player that really stepped up for the Bulls in this game was rookie forward Patrick Williams. The 19-year-old North Carolina native and former Florida State Seminole had one of his best individual performances of his rookie campaign to date.

Williams didn’t register a single turnover in this game. And he posted a team-high 23 points, six rebounds, four assists, one steal, and one block. Williams shot an efficient 9-of-14 from the field, 1-of-4 from beyond the arc, and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line.

Getting this type of nearly spotless outing from Wiliams could be pivotal for Donovan and the Bulls from here on out.

Other pieces of the supporting cast that stepped up against the Raptors were third-year center Wendell Carter Jr. and veteran small forward Otto Porter Jr. WCJ was very efficient in less than 19 minutes on the floor coming off the bench for the first time in his career.

It is a tad bit surprising that was the first time that WCJ wasn’t in the starting five in his three years in the NBA to date. But he was solid in his new role, which could be a great sign moving forward. He registered his seventh double-double of the season with 12 points, 11 rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one block.

That type of production from WCJ coming off the bench shows that he could be getting in the right mindset just to contribute to the team’s overall success.

The Bulls as a whole were impressive in the way the team came together in the wake of a number of changes to the starting five. Second-year point guard Coby White moved to the bench in favor of combo guard Tomas Satoransky, and veteran forward Thaddeus Young along with fourth-year power forward Lauri Markkanen were the starting frontcourt in place of WCJ.

This win over the Raptors moves the Bulls to a record of 17-20 on the season, to keep them within striking distance of the seven or eight seed in the playoff picture in the East. Next up for LaVine and the Bulls is an opportunity to extend their winning streak to two games against the Oklahoma City Thunder at home at the United Center on March 16.