LaVine just fine with quiet return to action
It’s time for Bulls fan to begin tracking a new era of the season.
The first 36 games were cleanly divided into two segments: before and after Zach LaVine’s injury. The Bulls opened with a dismal 5-14 stretch before LaVine was sidelined with a right foot injury, then bounced back with a 10-7 run while their star was out.
Friday opened a new chapter on a new version of the team with LaVine back on the court.
The two-time All-Star guard made his return after 38 days in a 104-91 win over the Hornets at the United Center. It was a somewhat quiet reintroduction: 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting, five rebounds and four assists in 29 minutes, 55 seconds.
The Bulls relied on Coby White, who had 22 points and six assists, to fuel the offense. DeMar DeRozan added 17 points and six assists.
Playing on a minutes restriction, LaVine came off the bench alongside center Nikola Vučević, who also returned from injury after missing two games because of a strained groin.
After the win, LaVine acknowledged that he’ll need several games to get back to top form.
“I’m going to sleep well tonight, y’all don’t understand,” LaVine joked. “I had a couple rebounds where I could have pushed the ball on the break and I was just looking for DeMar (DeRozan) or Coby, like I’m just going to go to the corner real fast and catch my breath.”
La Vine felt bolstered by the performanceeven with his conditioning still lagging. But that result alone won’t be enough to quiet the questions that defined LaVine’s absence.
The team’s success while LaVine was recovering fueled doubt around the guard’s ability to fit back in with the Bulls. And that only accentuated the uncertainty created by prior reports that LaVine himself wanted out of Chicago.
Vučević, also on a minutes restriction, played 24:55 and finished with 11 points and seven rebounds.
At 16-21, the Bulls entered Saturday in 10th place in the Eastern Conference, a half-game behind the Nets and a half-game ahead of the Hawks.