Chicago Bulls studs from bounce-back win over the Clippers: Zach LaVine
While this wasn’t necessarily the most efficient night from the first-time All-Star shooting guard Zach LaVine on the offensive end of the floor, he came through when it mattered most. LaVine was able to cut down on the fourth-quarter turnovers in a big way. That was an issue for LaVine, especially in the back-to-back losses last week at the hands of the Philadelphia 76ers.
The pace that LaVine is on at this point makes it look like he will be an All-Star selection for the second year in a row. That would be deserved with the way LaVine is performing out of the gates this season.
In this win over the Clippers, LaVine came up with 29 points, eight rebounds, two assists, no steals, no blocks, and four turnovers. And he shot 11-of-27 from the field, 6-of-13 from beyond the arc, and hit on his one attempt from the charity stripe.
This seemed like a game where LaVine should’ve got to the free-throw line for more than just a single attempt. He was getting in the lane and drawing a lot of contact, but the refs just weren’t giving him the calls in this game.
It’s never great to see LaVine miss this many field goal attempts, have double the number of turnovers compared to assists, and go without any steals and/or blocks. But he was clutch when it mattered and really powered this Bulls offense in the second half.
This was yet another game where LaVine was one of the spark plugs for the offense. And that is going to be critical when the Bulls are missing Vucevic and his valued offensive production. I’ll say it over and over again, the Bulls are going to live by the LaVine and die by the LaVine this season, especially with Vooch out.