Zach LaVine saw he had a chance to play with a three-time MVP and said “bet.”
The two-time All-Star looked more than deserving of his third appearance on Friday night at TD Garden. Facing off against the defending champs, LaVine carried a Bulls team that came into the game as a 14-point underdog to a 117-108 victory. The performance featured a little bit of everything from the guard, especially the off-the-dribble shot creation that Denver is seemingly desperate to add.
LaVine put on a true three-level shot-making clinic. Every single one of his six threes, in particular, was downright nasty. According to Statmuse, Zach LaVine is now the only player to score 35 points in a win over the Celtics this season. The pool may not be all that big considering Boston only has six losses, but that’s still pretty darn impressive!
If you missed the performance, the NBA gave it the highlight package treatment on YouTube.
As I’ve said many times before, Zach LaVine is far from the perfect player. But he’s also far from the empty calorie volume shooter that some have coined him. I’m not exactly sure where this reputation even came from. Has he lost a lot of games over his career? Yes, but how is that his fault? The Bulls miscast him as a No. 1 talent and repeatedly built questionable at-best rosters around him. The guard hasn’t been set up for a lot of success over his career. If anything, it’s pretty impressive he’s been able to turn into the uber-efficient scorer we see today. Also, I continue to be so freakin’ impressed with how he’s handled this season. Years of trade rumors can beat someone down, but LaVine has remained locked in and motivated. The fact he is playing arguably the best basketball of his career under these circumstances deserves a round of applause. Likewise, he continues to say all the right things when asked about the off-the-court buzz. This exchange with K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network says a lot about the healthy place LaVie is in mentally:More LaVine:”I signed a lengthy contract here for a reason. I wanted to stay here. But it’s always good to know you have interest because that means you’re a player other people want to play with. I’m just thankful the position I’m at today getting ready for defending NBA champs”
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) December 19, 2024 Let’s not beat around the bush, the Bulls winning three straight isn’t particularly a good thing. While I was happy to see Zach LaVine get his flowers last night, the game served as a reminder of the scary position this organization is in. LaVine and Vucevic are working directly against helping this team keep their 2025 lottery pick. I know I’ve annoyed some fans by harping on that point season-long, but it’s important! Does a third-straight Play-In appearance really outweigh adding another high-upside lottery pick in a VERY deep draft? If the Bulls controlled this year’s pick, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. I’d accept the No. 11 or No. 12 pick and hope for another player to drop like Matas Buzelis did. Unfortunately, the organization hasn’t given itself that luxury. LaVine was asked about this complicated spot the Bulls are in after the game, and he insisted that this group will continue to compete and push for the postseason:“One thing is as players and from what I know from Billy is we’re very competitive. And players and coaches never tank. ” LaVine told the Chicago Tribune’s Julia Poe. “That’s just not going to happen. We’re a good team. From our predictions early on in this year, we’re better than what people predicted us to be with the talent that we have here. We’re competitive, man. Obviously, you can lose to anyone in this league and you can go out there and play like we did and beat anybody.”
I expect him to say nothing less. I also expect Billy Donovan to continue to coach to the best of his ability. The fact of the matter is that their job is to go out there and win basketball games. What draft pick the team ends up with is the least of their worries. Instead, it’s the front office’s job to think about long-term success and put the franchise in a position to accomplish that. They still have a roster that is too good to do what they need to do. And before they had a roster that was too bad to do what they needed to do! © Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images Ayo Dosunmu lives to play two teams: Atlanta and Boston. As the Bulls noted after last night’s 17 points on 7-14 shooting, Dosunmu now has the highest field goal percentage of any guard against the Boston Celtics in NBA history. He has shot 59.0 percent from the field against Boston in his 12 appearances and 52.0 percent from long range!Ayo Dosunmu vs. Boston:17 points7-14 FG8 rebounds4 assists2 stealsAyo has the best FG% against the Celtics by ANY guard in NBA history (59% in his career) ? pic.twitter.com/OLXRz538eY
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) December 20, 2024 As the Celtics’ broadcast wisely said about Dosunmu last night’s game, “If he wants to get somewhere, he can get somewhere.” This behind-the-back move and finish was sick.AYO DOSUNMU IS IN HIS BAG.@CHSN__ | @AyoDos_11 pic.twitter.com/u3PGRnCLhH
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) December 20, 2024 Julian Phillips also deserves a tip of the cap for his performance last night. While he only shot 3-7 from the field, he scored 10 points with 5 rebounds in a +8 performance off the bench. I can see why Donovan has leaned more and more on the second-year forward as the season drags on. Phillips is starting to look a lot more comfortable finding his spots on the court. He always dives hard to the rim and has such a fierce athletic burst. Likewise, the offensive rebounding has been much needed! The Boston Celtics couldn’t believe they were losing to the Bulls and completely lost their composure. Without all those theatrics at the end of the game, they could have easily had a chance to win.Joe Mazzulla was heated at a ref at the end of the Celtics game pic.twitter.com/HGEb7SBCnV
— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) December 20, 2024 Discussing his freak out at the refs following the game, Joe Mazzulla said he was simply wishing them a merry Christmas.Joe Mazzulla on the message he wanted to send by going after the refs:“I hadn’t seen them in a while. So just a merry Christmas, happy holidays.” pic.twitter.com/MaOSMEZ5Pf
— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) December 20, 2024 This feels worth sharing after some exciting Sammy Sosa news this week.(1998) Michael Jordan throws out the first pitch to Sammy Sosa before Game 163 ?(via @MLB)pic.twitter.com/JGCOKVUj3W
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) December 19, 2024 Could Liam Coen be the answer the Chicago Bears are looking for? Patrick seems to think so! More on the coaching search here. The Blackhawks made some roster moves on Thursday, which Tab has covered.ELSEWHERE AT BN: Check Out BN Fantasy | Subscribe to The BN Newsletter
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