Is Zach LaVine One of the Most Underrated Players in the NBA? And Other Bullets

Last night, I hit up Second City for a show.

Every time I watch those performers at work, I’m always amazed by their talent. When an Improv show is bad, everybody notices. But when an Improve show is good, people can sometimes take it for granted. I took some classes over there back in the day and you can really see the amount of brainpower that goes into pulling off everything they do.

You know what, my new goal is to get the entire BN crew to put on a comedy show. You know you want to see Brett do improv.

  • ICYMI: Yesterday, we learned that Coby White signed a multi-year deal to join the Adidas team. While I definitely think it would’ve been fun to see him in a pair of Jordan’s during his first several years as a Chicago Bull, I’m more happy to just see the man get that money. Donovan Mitchell gave the man a shoutout and now fellow-Adidas-wearing-point guard Trae Young is following suit.
  • Also, yesterday, we shared Part 1 of The Athletic’s Darnell Mayberry’s 2019-20 regular-season schedule. Now, Part 2! He definitely saw some bumps in the road for the Bulls before the All-Star break, but things are much closer to .500 afterward. He puts the Bulls at a final record of 36-46, which is better than the typical 33.5 they have been projected, but also probably not enough to squeak into the playoffs.
  • Michael Porter Jr. decided to be kind to us media folks and give us something ridiculous to talk about!
  • Oh, I like the part about Zach LaVine being underrated! If we’re being honest, I wrestle with this from time-to-time. On one end, I certainly believe LaVine doesn’t get as much credit as he deserves, especially after this past season where he was averaging All-Star caliber numbers. Although, when looking at it from the other perspective, I completely understand LaVine not getting all the credit because (1) he hasn’t yet turned his offense into wins and (2) he hasn’t yet learned to play defense. We’ve talked about this at length before, and I do believe LaVine is one-step away from being a top shooting guard in the Eastern Conference, but, I guess I’m saying I can understand both the high and low vantage point on LaVine right now. After averaging 23.7 points per game last season though … I’m definitely high on him.
  • https://twitter.com/goknickstape/status/1161386521301307393?s=20

    (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

  • NBA2k20 player ratings are being released slowly but surely. Interesting enough, the first Bulls player to have his rating released hasn’t even stepped on the court yet … and no, it’s not Coby White. New center Daniel Gafford earned himself a 71-overall, which is pretty darn solid for a late-second rounder. He demonstrated tremendous rim-protecting potential during Summer League a little over a month ago, and you have to imagine that played a role in building his virtual stock. With his high-flying ability, I feel like it might be worth messing with the rosters to give Gafford a bit more playing time. If you want to keep up with the current NBA-2k ratings that are out there, I recommend checking in here frequently.
  • When I see someone shutting down the Wendell Carter Jr. skeptics, I’m all about it.
  • The game against Denver provided us with a wide look at Carter Jr.’s skill set, and he was able to put up a performance that was on-par with All-Star Nikola Jokic. When you consider how mobile and versatile Carter Jr. can be on the court, he should be able to give some serious problems to more traditional, opposing bigs this season. Although, instead of going too in-depth about Carter Jr. myself, I’ll let The Stepien take care of that for me. Cole Zwicker wrote the best Carter Jr. piece you’ll see.
  • Aaron Gordon wants to take on Zach LaVine in this year’s dunk contest and he is making it known. Please, someone just make this happen. I want LaVine, Zion, Gordon and Vince in the best dunk contest of all time. Oh, and throw MJ in there. I bet 56-year-old Jordan can still hang.
  • Quick, look! Before it’s gone! It’s the very rare occasion where the Bulls are giving Kris Dunn some love.
  • https://twitter.com/chicagobulls/status/1161381248629202945?s=20

  • Coby White apparently has three nicknames, but only Sub-zero is relevant.
  • These two former teammates are hanging out in a ball pit for some wholesome content.
  • written by

    Elias Schuster is the Lead Chicago Bulls writer at Bleacher Nation. He started with BN full-time in 2019 immediately after graduating from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign with a degree in Journalism (yes, he started with the Jim Boylen Era). Since joining, Elias has been the driving force behind Bulls and NBA content for both the site and social accounts. You can follow him on Twitter/X @Schuster_Elias.

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