Chicago Bulls: Zach LaVine rightly earns spot as Team USA starter

Following a solid outing for the Chicago Bulls star shooting guard Zach LaVine in a much-needed exhibition win for the United States over Argentina on the evening of July 13, he will get a spot in the starting unit for legendary head coach Gregg Popovich. LaVine got a varying amount of playing time in the first three games of this pre-Olympic exhibition circuit for the United States.

LaVine was one of the best players for the United States in a convincing July 13 win over Argentina, which came by the final score of 108-80. He registered 15 points, five rebounds, three assists, one steal, no blocks, and one turnover. Only the Brooklyn Nets superstar forward Kevin Durant and Washington Wizards star shooting guard Bradley Beal put up bigger stat lines than LaVine in the win over Argentina.

More good news for LaVine came in the fact that he got a big uptick in playing time on July 13, compared to the prior night’s loss to Australia. LaVine wasn’t on the floor for much more than a dozen minutes in the eight-point loss to Australia on July 12. But against Argentina, LaVine was on the floor for just shy of 24 minutes. Nearly doubling his playing time in the span of less than 24 hours is definitely a good sign for LaVine with Team USA moving forward.

LaVine was in the starting unit for the United States in this big win. He started at the three, with the backcourt unit rounding out with Damian Lillard and Beal. That seems to be a good combination that Pop found. Starting in the frontcourt in this game was KD and Bam Adebayo.

Chicago Bulls star Zach LaVine on the right path with Team USA

We’ll see how the rotation changes once the rest of the roster for the United States is added for the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, once the NBA Finals concludes. Team USA will get a big injection of guard talent at the conclusion of the Finals, namely from the likes of Devin Booker and Jrue Holiday.

Given the way that Booker has played for the Phoenix Suns throughout the postseason, it could be hard to keep him out of the starting unit. But LaVine might still get the edge early in the Olympic run given his extra time with this squad, and momentum built from this solid performance against Argentina.

For the time being, Bulls fans should appreciate the standout performance from LaVine while representing his country. There’s a high likelihood that he remains in the starting five for the United States, when they take the court for the next exhibition game in this pre-Olympic circuit against Australia again in Las Vegas on July 16.