Zach LaVine Is Healthy, And Taking Charge Of Chicago’s Offense

There wasn’t a lot of patience left for Zach LaVine, after a rough start to the 2022-2023 NBA season. After signing a new contract worth $215 million, the largest ever handed out by the Chicago Bulls, LaVine found himself in trade rumors after a string of games where he didn’t live up to his normal standards.

Of course, much of that was related to the knee surgery he had during the offseason, as the two-time All-Star needed time to ramp up and get back into game shape.

Over LaVine’s last 23 games, it’s fair to say he’s returned to the form that convinced Chicago to hand the above deal in the first place. The 27-year-old is averaging 26.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 4.3 assists over that span, connecting on 50.4% from the field, 41.1% from long range, and 85.7% from the line.

This is in line with the efficiency he sported two seasons ago, his best year in the league so far. LaVine sported a true shooting percentage of 63.4% in 2020-2021, a frankly absurd number for any perimeter player. His 63.2% mark over the past 23 games strongly indicates that he is back to that level of performance.

LaVine is also back to his usual self finishing near the rim, after his knee kept him from having the same bounce earlier in the year. During December, he converted on 74% of his shot attempts within three feet. He’s at 67.5% in January so far, which still represents a decent leap from the beginning of the year, where he found himself at just over 59%.

For LaVine, this explosion was a long time coming. Last season, after the arrival of DeMar DeRozan in free agency, LaVine took a back seat to the veteran, allowing DeRozan to take up an enormous portion of the offense. It was an admirable move on LaVine’s part, where he set aside his own statistical interests in order for the team to thrive and make it to the postseason.

This year, the Bulls haven’t been as effective as they were last year, in large part due to the continued absence of Lonzo Ball, and LaVine seems to realizing the need of him returning to the form he was in two years ago to get Chicago back to where they were.

By becoming more aggressive offensively, LaVine has taken pressure off both DeRozan and Nikola Vučević, the latter of which is currently playing some of the most efficient brand of basketball in his career.

Over that aforementioned 23-game stretch, Vučević is netting 18.9 points and 10.9 rebounds, hitting 55.5% from the floor, including 40.6% from behind the arc. DeRozan, who has missed three games during that stretch, is at 26.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 5.2 assists, while converting on 50.1% of his shots, and 90.1% of his 8.1 nightly free throw attempts.

What’s noteworthy here is that neither DeRozan nor Vučević have had to relinquish shots or opportunities while LaVine took over more of the offense. Instead, they’re taking more calucated shots, and the increased focus opposing defenses have on LaVine to fly under the radar, and thus get easier shots.

Chicago’s trio hasn’t played this well collectively before, even going back to last year where they ended up with the sixth seed.

Nothing illustrates that better than the fact that all three have had 40-point performances during this stretch. DeRozan and LaVine have each had two 40-point games, and Vučević one, signaling a larger offensive freedom for all of them.

This offensive blueprint of increasing the roles of all three of the team’s best offensive players probably should have been made last season, but at least head coach Billy Donovan and the coaching staff are making those adjustments now.

Whether it’s enough for the Bulls to make a proper run at the playoffs remains to be seen, especially as the team is still lacking a proper playmaker with Ball presumably out for the entire season.

Until then, it’s time to see just how far Chicago’s Big Three can carry them.

Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.