Chicago Bulls: Zach LaVine is making history this season
By Ryan Heckman
The Chicago Bulls may have dropped their first three games, but there is reason for fans to be excited.
Zach LaVine, Bob Love and Michael Jordan — two pretty notable names for the Chicago Bulls franchise, accompanied by one more who might have a shot to become an historic franchise favorite as well.
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LaVine may not be at that level yet, but he is well on his way as he’s earned plenty of Bulls fans’ attention early on this season. Though the Bulls just dropped their third straight game to begin the season, with a loss on the road to the Dallas Mavericks, LaVine has already made franchise history.
Zach LaVine joins Bob Love and Michael Jordan as the only players in Chicago Bulls franchise history to record three straight 30-point games to open a season.
That’s not too shabby of an accomplishment for a guy who has had Bulls fans split since his 4-year, $78 million extension over the offseason.
I’m not afraid to admit I was one of the skeptics. After all, LaVine hadn’t shot the ball well for the Bulls in his 24 healthy games last year and came into this year as somewhat of a mystery. He had a full, rehab-free offseason to work and it has already looked to be paying dividends.
https://twitter.com/chicagobulls/status/1054559812061663232
Yeah, I’d say he is back to full strength by now.
The Bulls have been without forward Lauri Markkanen to start the year after he injured his elbow right before the season, and won’t be back for a few more weeks. The Bulls were also without point guard Kris Dunn for their first two games, after he had celebrated the birth of his son for a few days.
This team is no where near full strength, as both Markkanen and Denzel Valentine have yet to return (Valentine is nearly back from an ankle injury). With new pieces like Jabari Parker, Wendell Carter Jr. and Chandler Hutchison, the Bulls will take a bit to gel — and that’s okay.
No one expected the Bulls to be anywhere near a title contender this year, obviously. What fans are expecting, though, is simple: Growth.
We’ve already seen enormous growth from LaVine.
Through three games, albeit a small sample size, LaVine is shooting the ball at a 61 percent clip — including a blazing 45 percent from long distance. He’s had games of 30, 33 and 34 points to start the year and has averaged a trio of buckets from three-point range each night.
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The one area we still need to see improvement, though, is on the defensive end. Sure, he’s come up with a few steals and blocks this season, but his every-possession, man-on-man defense is still lacking. He’s been vocal about improving in that area all offseason, so we’ll see if that aspect of his game improves as the year goes on.