LaVine signals knee problem is over
Bulls guard Zach LaVine decided to have some fun Tuesday with a simple question: Where is his game currently, coming off summer surgery on his left knee and with camp starting?
“I added a lot to my game — short game, you know?” he said. “I was able to put a lot of good putts out there. My draw is really good right now . . .”
Golf jokes aside, LaVine eventually answered what needed to be answered.
“No, I add stuff to my game all the time,” he said. “It’s not about changing your game or going out there and being someone different. I am who I am. I know what I do really well, and I’ve done it really well for the last four years.
“[The knee] feels really good.’’
It was maybe the best news to come out of the summer, especially after indications last season that LaVine’s knee issue was slowing him more than he and the Bulls were willing to admit. His defensive stats took the most obvious hit, plummeting once the knee started to hinder him in December.
But his offense seemed to be affected, as well. In the 10 games he played as the second of a back-to-back, he averaged 22.5 points and shot 44.8% from the field. With one day of rest, he averaged 24.3 points and shot 48.3%. And in seven games when he had two days of rest, it was 27 points and 48.5%.
Does that mean the Bulls will handle his workload differently this season? That remains to be seen, but LaVine said the knee surgery was a minor cleanup and he has had no issues since.
“I’m comfortable with who I am and what I do,” he said.
Numbers game
After the death of Hall of Famer Bill Russell in July, the NBA announced that Russell’s No. 6 would be permanently retired. Players already wearing that number were grandfathered in, but Bulls guard
Alex Caruso wanted to honor Russell by making the switch anyway.
One problem. Make that 75 of them.
“The NBA told me I couldn’t because I was in the top 75 of jersey sales,” he said. “So that’s, like, a rule, which . . . shout-out to me.” He smirked and pretended to pat himself on the back.
“No, I looked into it and obviously want to do nothing but honor him and his legacy and what he stood for,” Caruso said. “He’s one of the pioneers, a racial advocate for the game of basketball in general and just an all-around great person.
“Probably next year I’ll look into getting another number.”
A good sign
Whenever veteran guard Goran Dragic spent his summer playing for his native Slovenia, he had a good NBA season. Despite Dragic being retired from international ball for almost five years, countryman Luka Doncic of the Mavericks talked him into playing again this summer.
That could be good news for the Bulls, who will need Dragic early on as point guard Lonzo Ball recovers from a second surgery on his left knee.
“I was in doubt a little bit to go or not to go,” Dragic said. “And I said to myself: ‘When I look back at my career, I always play well when I play for my national team because I was already ready in game shape and everything.’ So that’s why I decided to go.”