ONE WITHOUT THE OTHER JUST WON’T DO
LAVINE AND MARKKANEN HAVE THEIR SIGNALS CROSSED, AND PORTER’S TIMEOUT ISN’T MAKING SITUATION EASIER
The pressure on Zach LaVine and Lauri Markkanen to “figure it out’’ won’t be going away anytime soon — not after the Bulls announced Friday that veteran wing Otto Porter Jr.’s bruised left foot is worse than initially thought.
Porter suffered the setback during the first half of Wednesday night’s victory in Atlanta, leaving the game but walking fine afterward. The next morning wasn’t as kind to him.
“Because of the soft tissue, these are things that maybe it settles down in 24-48 hours, maybe it doesn’t,” coach Jim Boylen said. “That’s where the uncertainty comes in, where it’s difficult to put a timeframe on it. So, yes, it did not settle down like maybe we had hoped other injuries have.
“We’re not taking any chances with him, or anybody. We’ll manage him accordingly and support him in the appropriate way.”
That means Porter will miss at least Saturday night’s game against the Rockets, with the days after a wait-and-see.
What the Bulls can’t wait on any longer is LaVine and Markkanen emerging as a dominant duo — not in practice but in actual games.
“If I had the answer, I’d be able to tell you,” LaVine said Friday. “I wish it was running as smoothly as it seems [it should], or even in practice, how it looks sometimes. But it doesn’t just come along sometimes that fast, I guess. It’s tough, but we’re still working on it every day.
“We know we can be a dynamic duo with our shooting, our athletic ability to get to the hoop. We just have to put it into the game.
We’ve seen it at points in the game sometimes — last year, this year, you know — but we’ve just got to do it consistently. I’d like it to be better, but I wish I had an answer for you. I wish it was crisp, too.”
Markkanen said he and LaVine have frequently discussed their inconsistency and have a strong enough relationship to sit down after games and break it down.
“We talk all the time, so we understand what’s going on,” Markkanen said. “It’s not like we need an extra talk.”
They need an extra something. Markkanen has scored more than 20 points in just one of the Bulls’ nine games this season — the opener in Charlotte, when he had 35 points and 17 rebounds in a 126-125 loss. LaVine scored just 16 points in that game, on 7-for-17 shooting, with some shaky defense.
LaVine’s highest scoring game was in Memphis (37 points). Markkanen scored nine in that 110-102 win, shooting just 4-for-15.
That has kind of summed up the season so far. When one has a solid showing, the other is often missing in action. Considering their skill sets and how they should mesh so well, it shouldn’t be that difficult. Pick-and-roll, pick-and-pop — they should do it all. Pick-and-pray wasn’t supposed to be the reality.
“Drive, kick — it seems like a match made in heaven,” LaVine agreed. “We’ve just got to be able to be consistent together and both be dominant on the court at the same time.”
Considering the Bulls constructed their roster in order for LaVine and Markkanen to be able to do that, the hope is the problem will fix itself.
“We’ve had plays at the rim,” Boylen said. “We’ve had open looks. We’ve played seven of eight strong quarters. We came off, in my opinion, one of our better wins in a long time [in Atlanta] after a difficult home loss. . . . We’re going to keep working at what we believe in, sharing it, caring for each other and playing hard.
“It’s always on the head coach’s mind how to get guys involved. But there’s a responsibility from the player, too. That’s just our game.” ✶
“We know we can be a dynamic duo with our shooting, our athletic ability to get to the hoop. We just have to put it into the gamE.” Zach LaVine