When a certain narrative is crafted about a player during a down period in their career it can be extremely difficult to overcome that. After last season, Zach LaVine was labeled as a negative asset, and someone that the Chicago Bulls were going to have to attach assets to in order to trade. This season, with some better luck health wise and some excellent on court performances, LaVine has been able to turn this narrative around.
Due to a foot injury last season, LaVine only appeared in 25 games , in which he averaged below 20 points per game for the first time since the 2017-18 NBA season. This injury could not have come at a worst time for LaVine as he was just beginning his 5-year $215 million dollar contract extension. For your star player to be on the shelf while making $43 million annually is a very unideal situation. With his injury and on court struggles coinciding with Chicago’s inevitable freefall toward a rebuild the question became, what is LaVine’s value?
So far this season LaVine has answered that question by averaging 23.6 points per game while shooting 51 percent from the field, 45 percent from three on 7.1 attempts per game, with a 64 percent true shooting percentage, which is a career high along with his three-point shooting percentage. LaVine is one of the best shooters in the NBA but he is also elite in many other areas. He is shooting 68.1 percent in the restricted area and 40 percent in the mid range, and he is getting these looks both off the dribble and with the help of his teammates. He can blow by a defender with a quick hesitation, and he can also cut backdoor before his defender can blink. LaVine has been an extremely versatile and potent scorer for many years now, but his altered approach stylistically this season is what has truly stood out.
LaVine has been a mainly on-ball scorer since he first landed in Chicago, immediately having the ball placed in his hands and being tasked with creating offense. Over the years he was always the main source of offense, often having to create for himself off the dribble which empowered some wonderful scoring seasons but also made his struggles as a would-be lead playmaker more pronounced. This season LaVine has a usage percentage of 26.3 which is the lowest during his Bulls tenure excluding last season where he only played 25 games. LaVine’s percentage of assisted field goals is 49 percent, a noteworthy increase from 42.9 percent in the 2022-23 season, the last previous healthy season from LaVine.
So, he has the ball in his hands less, and he is allowing his teammates around him to set him up off of his off-ball movement. The trade for Josh Giddy and the return of Lonzo Ball have given the Bulls two excellent passers who have had no trouble constantly finding LaVine all over the floor.
Here, LaVine is setting up to run off of a screen by Patrick Williams and he notices that Brandon Ingram is guarding the action too high, and with the Bulls having 5 out spacing it opens up a path for LaVine to reject the screen backdoor, float through the air and slam down the lob from Ball.
Here, LaVine sees that Gary Trent Jr. is toplocking him as he is trying to run through a screen from Nikola Vucevic, so he cuts backdoor, receives the pass from Giddey and rises up for the easy lay-in. LaVine’s quickness and athleticism is perfectly combined with the passing of Giddey and Ball and with his willingness to cut and move off-ball it has led to plenty of easy looks.
Chicago has revamped their offensive approach this season, which is also another reason for LaVine’s resurgence on offense this year, and his career high marks in efficiency. After being last in transition possessions per game in the NBA last season and 28th in pace, Chicago sought to drastically change this and they did. This season they have shot up to second in transition possessions per game and 3rd in pace.
This schematic change in Chicago’s approach is extremely complimentary to Lavine’s strengths, specifically his world-famous athleticism. LaVine is often the receiver of an outlet pass and this gets him constant low-difficulty looks at the rim, since he frequently is sprinting out in transition, which results in easy field goals. This season LaVine is averaging 1.33 points per possession on 4.8 transition possessions per game which is in the 88th percentile. Chicago’s offensive adjustments do not end there. They have also shot up to second in the league in three pointers attempted per game and three pointers made per game at 42.9 and 16.2.
Here, after the miss on the layup by Desmond Bane, LaVine is already getting out in transition, and with a pass from Giddey and one defender back, he gets the easy dunk after bumping him out of the way. LaVine in the open floor is an incredible weapon and he puts a lot of pressure on defenses with these possessions.
Chicago modernizing their offense may not have resulted in team success thus far, but it has empowered an extremely efficient season for LaVine. Playing to his strengths makes life much easier for him on offense, and has led to a resurgence that he desperately needed. Throughout his time in trade rumors LaVine has been a consummate professional and he has had no problem adjusting his playstyle to fit with the team scheme. Whether he finishes his contract on the Chicago Bulls or with whatever team he is traded to, he has shown once again this season that he is without a doubt a positive asset.
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