A nice win for the Chicago Bulls and second-year head coach Billy Donovan came on the night of Nov. 29 at home at the United Center over the Charlotte Hornets by a convincing double-digit margin. The Hornets are a legitimate playoff contender in the Eastern Conference right now and this was a big win to get for the Bulls as the team is set to hit the road again for some key games.
Each of the players in the Bulls’ big three were on their game in the 133-119 win over the Hornets on Nov. 29. And despite facing a reported fever/sickness on Nov. 29, star shooting guard Zach LaVine played pretty well for the Bulls.
In this win over the Hornets, LaVine apparently played through a fever. After the game, Donovan stated that “physically, you could tell that he was sick” and that “his eyes were all bloodshot”. Considering the numbers he put up in this game, and the energy he had for this team in just over 35 minutes on the floor, this was impressive for LaVine.
Billy Donovan on Zach LaVine playing through fever: "Physically, you could tell he was sick. His eyes were all bloodshot. I give him a lot of credit."
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) November 30, 2021
Zach LaVine reportedly played through a fever in a big win for the Chicago Bulls over the Hornets on Nov. 29
LaVine registered 25 points, six rebounds, five assists, no steals, no blocks, and two turnovers. And he shot 10-of-18 from the field, 2-of-7 from beyond the arc, and 3-of-4 from the free-throw line. With LaVine having two or three shots from downtown that went in-and-out of the basket in this game, a little reversal of luck could’ve seen him get above 30 points.
All in all, LaVine keeps battling through various hurdles to his own health that hasn’t really held him back all that much on the court. He’s dealt with a laceration to the thumb in his non-shooting hand for the last month or so now. And it appears that could be an injury that at least gives him discomfort for another couple of months.
It does look like, at times, the thumb injury is really interfering with LaVine’s handling of the basketball. There are likely some turnovers that wouldn’t happen if LaVine was not dealing with this thumb injury in the last few weeks.
Following the Bulls’ win over the Hornets at home on Nov. 29, the team is sporting a record of 14-8 on the season. Next up for LaVine and the Bulls is a meeting with the New York Knicks on the road at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 2.