LAVINE IS THE BULLS’ ONLY HOPE
He’s lone chance for hosts to salvage All-Star pride
Far too often lately, it has become easy to forget what Chicago basketball is.
Not Bulls basketball, mind you. No, we’re talking about the essence of Chicago basketball and what it means to the city, given the players it always has produced.
The hope at the start of the NBA season was that the All-Star Game and accompanying festivities this weekend would strip away some of the muck the Bulls have built on the window. But even that is in jeopardy now.
The Bulls have only themselves to blame. None of their players was good enough in the eyes of the fans and coaches to make the All-Star Game, only Wendell Carter Jr. was good enough to be picked for the Rising Stars game Friday — and he’s out with a right ankle injury — and some would argue that Zach LaVine chose the wrong contest to compete in Saturday.
Just don’t try selling LaVine on that. Yes, he already has won the dunk contest twice (2015 and 2016), but what a story it would have been for the hometown fans to see LaVine come back after having knee surgery three years ago and reclaim the throne.
Instead, LaVine has been practicing on the racks in an effort to figure out the intricacies of the three-point contest.
‘‘Yeah, I’ve done it a couple of times,’’ LaVine said when he was asked how much practice time he has been getting in leading up to the weekend. ‘‘Just get my timing down with the racks. Just like anything else, just practice the routine. Hopefully you get in a rhythm and, you know, come home with a trophy.’’
If he prevails, LaVine would be the first player in NBA history to capture the dunk and three-point-shooting contests — a feat that would open some more eyes to the evolution of his game.
‘‘If people think I’m just a high-flyer still, I think they’re just a casual NBA fan that just checks their phone and stuff, so I ain’t really doing it for them,’’ said LaVine, who is shooting 38.5 percent from three-point range this season. ‘‘It’s something I haven’t done before, obviously. I think it’s going to be fun, and I think I have a chance to win.’’
Considering the rest of the field, it won’t be easy. But LaVine is all Chicago has this weekend.
There was some hope when the Heat’s Tyler Herro withdrew from the Rising Stars game that Bulls rookie Coby White might replace him, but the slot went to the Cavaliers’ Collin Sexton instead.
The decision angered the Bulls, who already were feeling ignored by the league.
‘‘I don’t understand that situation,’’ Bulls coach Jim Boylen said of the Rising Stars news. ‘‘Yeah, I really don’t have a good answer for you. Would I like to see [White] in that game? Of course, I would. And do I think he’s deserving of playing in that game? Of course, I do. He’s not, so we’re going to move on and coach him.’’
When the Heat selected Dwyane Wade with the fifth overall pick of the 2003 NBA Draft, Wade confided in his high school coach, Jack Fitzgerald, that he hoped to play at least 10 years in the NBA.
He retired with six more than he had hoped for, and he never has forgotten the humble beginnings that laid the groundwork for his Hall of Fame career.
‘‘I was a little kid running around here for a long time,’’ Wade said.
On Thursday, Wade kicked off NBA AllStar Weekend by returning to the place where it all began, Richards High School, for a debut screening of his ESPN film ‘‘D. Wade: Life Unexpected.’’ It will be shown at 9 p.m. Feb. 23 on ESPN.
‘‘I never got an opportunity to have an All-Star Game in Chicago while I was playing,’’ Wade said. ‘‘I wish I would have, but I’m happy to be a part of it and to be a part of it in a big way. Being able to release my documentary this week and to be able to do some other cool things and still be around the game.’’
As the film ended, Wade walked into Richards’ new auditorium to cheers that felt reminiscent of his playing days.
‘‘Oh, my god, it’s D. Wade!’’
‘‘I knew he was going to come out!’’ ‘‘Dwyane Wade is right there!’’ Echoes of those sentiments were shouted from every corner of the room as Wade met ESPN host and Chicago-area native Cassidy Hubbarth on the stage for a Q&A.
Directed and executive-produced by longtime Wade friend Bob Metelus, ‘‘Life Unexpected’’ took 10 years to film and offers a personal look into Wade’s life. It shares the three-time NBA champion’s experiences in the league and beyond, taking viewers all the way through his final season.
Intimate moments between Wade and daughter Zaya, as their family embraces her gender identity, are documented, too. The courage his daughter has displayed publicly and privately has helped Wade grow as a parent, he said.
‘‘My daughter is no different when it comes to just giving me the ability in life to see things differently, to understand life differently, to be a better person and to want to be a better person for her or for them,’’ Wade said.
As Chicago embraces All-Star Weekend, Wade is embracing his second act.
He never envisioned being an All-Star, but he played in the game 13 times. His work ethic allowed him to accomplish more than he ever dreamed of.
He said he’s approaching his second act the same way.
‘‘I just want to find the passions and the things that I’m excited about,’’ Wade said. ‘‘I think [late Lakers star] Kobe [Bryant] led the way in that.
‘‘That’s one of the things that a lot of us are going to miss: having him out in the forefront, leading the way and showing all of us that we can win an Emmy, we can win an Oscar, we can do these different things as athletes. I guess myself and other guys are out front now, and we have to lead the way for the next generation.’’