Zach OK taking a back seat
As Nikola Vucevic puts up his best night with the Bulls, LaVine is happy to defer
Now that Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine is paired alongside a prolific scorer in center Nikola Vucevic for the first time in his career, he’s likely to have more games like Tuesday’s, which he finished with just 19 points.
But considering the Bulls cruised to a 113-97 victory over the Indiana Pacers behind a monster 32-point, 17-rebound performance from Vucevic — his most in both categories since joining the team — LaVine was more than happy to take a back seat.
“As long as there’s a ‘W’ behind there, I’m good,” LaVine said. “I’m all about winning and trying to get this team to be better. If that means me taking a lesser role some nights and my scoring goes down, I’m fine with that. As long as we get a win.”
The Bulls (21-28) took advantage of a shorthanded Pacers squad to pick up their second straight win, and they might be starting to find a winning formula with this revamped roster.
With Vucevic rolling and LaVine (6 of 18) struggling with his shot, the Bulls ran everything through their new All-Star big man. Thad Young (14 points, seven rebounds and five assists) put up his usual strong showing to go with contributions off the bench from Lauri Markkanen (15 points, six rebounds) and Coby White (13 points, six assists).
“Even a game like this where my shot wasn’t going as much, you’re not as pressed to have all the pressure on you to go out there and go try to save the game or even win the game,” LaVine said. “We can run a play, just dump it down to (Vucevic) and I know that we’re going to be OK. It’s a relief.”
It also seems like coach Billy Donovan is starting to settle on a rotation for his revamped roster.
He played nine players in the first half Tuesday, and considering Denzel Valentine played only two minutes before halftime, Donovan stuck to an eightman rotation — the five starters plus Markkanen, White and Troy Brown Jr. — until the game got out of hand. He also has started staggering rest for Vucevic and LaVine to make sure at least one of them is on the floor for most of the game.
The Bulls were without center Daniel Theis (personal reasons) and guard Garrett Temple (hamstring), and both players are likely to factor into Donovan’s rotation. But the Bulls appear to be settling in after spending so much time in flux.
Having Vucevic and LaVine on the same page and finding a groove together helps sort out the rest.
“Zach needs to be who he is and Vooch needs to be who he is,” Donovan said. “As long as we are generating good shots and we’re efficient with what we are doing offensively, I really don’t care who gets the shots. I think those guys would say the same thing.”
LaVine has answered criticism from earlier in his career about being a so-called “empty-calories” scorer with his performance this season, but his willingness to accept blending in next to Vucevic is still notable.
Vucevic is averaging 22.7 points and 11 rebounds on 51% shooting in six games since joining the Bulls, and he seems to be growing more comfortable by the game. His connection with LaVine is starting to show progress, but the two still are getting more comfortable playing off each other.
“Zach is a great player. He can score in many ways. He can facilitate. He does a lot of things on the court,” Vucevic said. “I think at times he might be a little too unselfish and he can be a little more aggressive, which I’ve told him. The more him and I are able to grow and build that chemistry in a two-man game, the better it will be for the whole team.
“In this league when you have a two-man game like that with two guys who can score in different ways, it’s very hard to guard.”
LaVine acknowledged he’s still surprised by certain aspects of Vucevic’s game.
“How soft his hands are,” LaVine said. “He can catch pretty much everything. You throw him a hard pass in the middle of the lane, it just seems like he has a mitt.”
The two All-Stars are starting to build chemistry at a crucial stretch for the Bulls over the next two weeks, with games against the Pacers, Toronto Raptors and Atlanta Hawks, all of whom are competing for playoff seeding in the Eastern Conference. With a win Tuesday, the Bulls were able to pull within one game of the No. 9 seed.
“Each and every game is an opportunity,” LaVine said. “But we’ve got to go out there ... take it a game at a time but understanding the situation that you’re in. The games are going to come and we’ve got to start running some off.”