Um, Do You Realize How Amazing Zach LaVine Has Been? ...Middle East

Zach LaVine demands respect.

The 29-year-old may act modest in front of the microphone, but everything he has done on the court has screamed for recognition. Any concerns or criticisms from his 2023-24 campaign – which ended after only 25 games due to foot surgery – have looked foolish from the moment the ball tipped on Oct. 23. LaVine has genuinely been playing some of the best basketball of his career, and this has been highlighted most over the last month of the season.

Zach LaVine is Going OFF …

Since Dec. 1, Zach LaVine has averaged 24.6 points, 5.0 assists, and 4.8 rebounds per game. He has shot 50.9 percent from the field and 47.4 percent from long range while shooting 7.4 attempts from three a night. We’ve watched him score 30 points seven different times, including in each of his last three games. LaVine is fresh off a near triple-double in a victory over the Spurs, finishing with 34 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists.

Among the 21 players who have averaged at least 24.0 points since the start of December, LaVine is shooting better than all of them from downtown. This has played a significant part in boosting his overall effective field goal percentage to 61.2 percent over this stretch, which Cleaning the Glass ranks inside the league’s 99th percentile.

If we look more specifically at how LaVine has performed since Christmas, the numbers become even more jaw-dropping. Only Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (33.9) and Nikola Jokic (33.6) have averaged more points per game than LaVine (30.4), who is tied with Joel Embiid. However, LaVine has shot better than both Jokic and Embiid from the field and better than all three players from deep. We can all agree that’s some ridiculously good company, right?

Don’t get it twisted, no one is claiming LaVine belongs on the same tier as these MVP-caliber players. But he also sure doesn’t belong completely out of the All-Star conversation. LaVine failed to land within the Top 10 of Eastern Conference backcourt players on the first fan-voting return for the 2025 All-Star Game. HUH!?

Now, does this speak more to the irrelevancy of the Chicago Bulls’ organization than it does to LaVine’s play? Absolutely, and there is a chance NBA coaches around the league consider LaVine far more when selecting reserves. But this still indicates that his efforts are being overlooked, which is a real shame when we consider how truly impressive LaVine’s numbers are.

We also shouldn’t ignore how LaVine is achieving these marks. First of all, over his 31 games played so far this season, he is registering a 26.3 usage percentage. This is his second-lowest usage rating since joining the Chicago Bulls in 2017-18. If we remove last year’s 25-game season, this is his lowest usage rating as a Bull!

Why does that matter? Well, it demonstrates how effective he can be with less of a workload, which sure feels worthwhile when we consider his potential trade market. The Bulls’ reliance on him over the years led to an inaccurate ball-dominant reputation. In reality, he has always been a highly efficient scorer who doesn’t need the rock in his hands to do his best work. The way he has effortlessly fit into the Bulls’ new uptempo, unselfish style of play affirms that … or at least it should.

This is especially true when we consider he is moving across the lineup more than ever before. Stuffed with backcourt talent, head coach Billy Donovan has consistently opted for three-guard lineups. This has led to LaVine playing the majority of his minutes at small forward (64 percent) and even clocking 15 percent of his minutes this season at power forward, per Cleaning the Glass. Never before have we seen LaVine bounce around the lineup as much as he has nor share the court with this many ball-handlers. And, yet, he continues to put together arguably the best season of his career.

Yeah, but the Bulls still suck!? I’ve long found it silly that the win-loss column has been held against LaVine. It’s not his fault the front office has repeatedly failed to build a winning roster or agreed to extend him a max contract. Instead, LaVine job is to simply compete hard and improve year in and year out, which he has done.

As the season has gone on, some have stated that Zach LaVine has returned to his former healthy self. I actually wouldn’t say the same. I’d rather declare that what we have seen this season – particularly over the last month – is the single-best version of LaVine yet. Not only is he scoring with mind-boggling efficiency, but he is making his presence felt in more ways than one. On a night where he isn’t finding the bottom of the net, he is hustling for rebounds, making the extra pass, or locking in on defense. Scoring will always be his bread and butter, but this version of LaVine has added some ham, cheese, and mustard!

Indeed, any argument that he doesn’t impact winning has taken a pretty significant hit this season. The Bulls may not be very good, but they weren’t supposed to be! This team is considerably better than expected, and arguably the main reason for that is the continued growth and improvement of LaVine.

If you don’t believe me, look at his career-high +8.4 On/Off efficiency differential, per Cleaning the Glass. The Bulls are +7.5 points per 100 possessions better when LaVine is on the floor this season. They also see a +4.7 percent bump in their effective field goal percentage when he’s in the game, which ranks in the NBA’s 95th percentile.

As recently as Monday night we watched LaVine save his team from defeat. He nearly single-handedly outscored the Spurs in the fourth quarter, dropping 14 points to their 15 points. The Bulls would go on to steal the game in the final 47.0 seconds and win 114-110. The more we watch performances like these, the more baffled I am that essentially zero trade market has developed for the elite scorer. I understand that two years, $95.0 million is a lot of money in today’s new era of harsh tax restrictions, but it’s also not as if LaVine is playing far below that payday.

At the end of the day, I guess that is why I’m still holding out some hope that suitors emerge for Zach LaVine over the next month. He is literally doing everything in his power to prove he deserves to be in a winning environment. It’s about time someone takes notice.

Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Um, Do You Realize How Amazing Zach LaVine Has Been? )

Also on site :

• RFU open to hosting Chelsea at Twickenham if Stamford Bridge redevelopment goes ahead
• Fastest IPL Century: Vaibhav Suryavanshi fastest Indian to 100, trails only Chris Gayle
• Man, 36, ‘slowly gassed to death’ after car filled with deadly poison – as heartbroken sister fights for change in law