Chicago Bulls: 3 Players stepping up with Zach LaVine out

Chicago Bulls Stepping up with Zach LaVine Out: Nikola Vucevic

Vucevic should be expected to make a list such as this one, and he certainly has earned his spot. Despite the small sample size of games including his worst performance as a member of the Chicago Bulls, Vooch is still one of the key reasons the Bulls are 3-2 in their last five.

In that stretch, he leads the team in scoring at 21 points per game, leads the team in rebounding by a wide margin and has flat out dominated the opponents in all three of the Bulls wins.

Without him, it is hard to imagine what exactly the Bulls would be doing on offense possession after possession with the rest of the group they have. Vooch has been the engine that has kept the Bulls running and without him, there is no doubt the team would be 0-5 in the last five games.

He is also averaging 4.2 assists per game in the Bulls last five games, ranking him third on the team only behind the team’s point guards. While Vooch is and always will be a great passer, he has stepped up his focus on getting his teammates involved knowing LaVine is not around to create open looks for players like he has all season.

By doing that, the Bulls are able to get the well-balanced offensive attack that they need to make up for the scoring they are missing. They have a number of players in their rotation who are not going to get themselves going offensively, so Vucevic stepping up and getting the whole team going on offense is a true sign of leadership and on-court awareness.