NEWSLETTER
After last night’s 4th-quarter collapse to the Indiana Pacers, and eventual loss in overtime, Zach LaVine wasn’t the happiest of campers.
The Chicago Bulls were up 100-93 with 4 minutes remaining and were outscored 22-6 across the end of regulation and overtime. LaVine, normally a late-game hero, was just as much a part of the problem last night, missing 8 of his final 10 shot attempts, as he was the solution. And for a guy trying to earn the first All-Star nod of his career, that’s not a great, last impression to leave on the voters.
Indeed, tonight (6:00 pm CT) on TNT, the NBA coaches’ All-Star reserve selections will be announced. And thanks to his 25.1 points per game on 44.0 percent shooting from the field and 38.0 percent from downtown, LaVine has been heavily a part of the discussion. However, with several other big-time players on winning teams still waiting for their name to be called, it’s tough to envision LaVine cracking the roster.
Dating back to last season, the biggest thing seemingly standing in-between LaVine and the All-Star game has been his own organization’s ineptitude. The Bulls have failed to properly build a competitive, winning basketball team. But that general lack of winning is – fairly or not – often cited as the reason LaVine comes just short of a bid.
Generally speaking, LaVine is well-aware of these issues:
“We just don’t know how to win yet,” LaVine told The Athletic. “It’s been the same thing all year. We’re a really good team. We compete with the best teams. We’ve seen that. We’ve had teams with winning records, we’ve been beating throughout the game and had control of the game and we lose in the end. And that’s what good teams do is win at the end. And we haven’t figured out how to do that. I’m not questioning our talent or how good we are individually. But as a team, we don’t know how to win.”
No lies detected.
LaVine, in noticeable frustration, went on to point out the Bulls 1-19 record against teams with winning records. And, don’t worry, he criticized his personal performance on the night, as well.
Zach LaVine: "I’m upset with myself. I played (expletive). I missed shots I should make. I made a bad decision. I just couldn’t close the game today."
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) January 30, 2020
LaVine’s frustration makes perfect sense. He’s, practically, single-handedly responsible for most of the Bulls 19 wins. Without him, there is no telling how much worse the turmoil in Chicago would be. But regardless, there’s no better way to grab All-Star voter’s attention than winning basketball games (er, except with Trae Young, I guess).
With that said, I’m still not sure I agree with that train of thought (though I acknowledge its existence in voters and coaches’ minds).
I understand that winning is important, but it’s always hard to put a team’s win total on the shoulders of one player. Imagine if you were interviewing for a new gig because your old company folded. Would it be fair for the boss of this new company to hold the reputation of the other company against you even though you have all the proper qualifications? You weren’t really responsible for them sucking. It was all because of GarPa– I mean whatever people were leading this imaginary company.
Nonetheless, I expect LaVine to come up just short once again. His best chance at making the roster will be if an Eastern Conference selection has to sit out due to injury. Adam Silver will then get to select one player to fill that person’s spot, and maybe LaVine can sneak his way in thanks to the event being in Chicago.
Only time will tell, and the clock’s ticking!
