Chicago Bulls: 3 Takeaways from Arturas Karnisovas’s interview
By Ryan Taylor
Karnisovas spoke fondly of the Bulls’ star player, and one of this year’s Eastern Conference all-stars, Zach LaVine.
“We constantly end games because of his play. He’s been establishing himself as a leader of this team. We’ve improved dramatically because he’s impacting winning. Besides his numbers of 29 (points), five (rebounds), five (assists), which are amazing, he’s also impacting winning. That’s why this team is fighting for a playoff spot,” said Karnisovas.
Karnisovas told no lies here. LaVine is an all-star this season. Not only is LaVine averaging 29 points, 5.3 rebounds, and five assists, but LaVine is also shooting 52.2 percent from the field, 43.3 percent from three, and 85.1 percent from the free-throw line.
The biggest takeaway from this quote is that LaVine is “impacting winning.” LaVine is in the top-25 of the NBA in offensive win shares (2.6), win shares (3.7), offensive box plus/minus (4.7), and box plus/minus (3.8). We have seen LaVine finish games on many occasions as he did against the Pacers in overtime mid-February.
It’s no question that LaVine has played at a new level in his third season with the Bulls. Bulls fans should be happy to hear that LaVine should be around for the foreseeable future.