NEWSLETTER
IT’S ZACH LAVINE’S BIG DAY!
• Does anyone else think Adam Silver peed himself when he heard the Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons news this morning? After months of listening to players and fans alike question whether or not an All-Star Game should even take place, the league ran into a contact tracing issue with two of its biggest stars on Monday. Both Embiid and Simmons reportedly visited a barber in the Philly area who received a positive COVID diagnosis, but neither player has – fortunately – come into contact with any other All-Star participants. So while the league has appeared to have dodged a bullet, this situation has still kind of validated the concerns many had about forcible pushing this event forward. I mean, how weird is it that Paul George has to sit in Atlanta and feel this unsure about being there? It’s just not a great look for the league.
Clippers star Paul George gave his take on whether the NBA All-Star Game should even be taking place. pic.twitter.com/HqgxsYkNl7
— USA TODAY Sports (@usatodaysports) March 7, 2021
• Anyway, I may have my doubts about this whole process, but I’m still going to cheer for Zach LaVine. While I wish his experience as a first-time All-Star could come under more traditional circumstances, this is still a long over-do accomplishment worth celebrating. Bulls fans should be excited to watch him take the floor tonight and, by the sound of it, he sure does sound ready to give the performance his all.
Zach LaVine said he “wants to put on a show” and feels he has the “perfect game” for an All-Star setting.
His fiancée, parents and best friend will be in arena.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) March 7, 2021
• He’s right. LaVine’s high-flying, difficult shot-making, and raw athleticism kind of makes him the ideal All-Star Game talent. I expect to see plenty of highlight-reel plays from him starting at 7:00 p.m. CT.
• The more time in quarantine, the less time to tamper! Damn you, NBA!!
Zach LaVine, via Zoom from ATL: “I’ve been a part of All-Star weekend a lot, and this is like nothing I’ve experienced… We’re really not doing anything.”
Flight at 2 p.m. yesterday. Tested, got some food, has mostly stayed in room. Did get some 3P practice in this morning.
— Rob Schaefer (@rob_schaef) March 7, 2021
• Doc knows what’s up.
East All-Star coach Doc Rivers on Zach LaVine's All-Star jump: "You kind of saw it coming. When you’re playing the Bulls, you kind of know where they’re going. He’s their go-to guy and yet he’s still getting it. And he’s doing it efficiently."
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) March 7, 2021
• Fans around the league may not have realized it, but LaVine has been putting up All-Star caliber numbers for a couple of years. Something that I think really held LaVine back was the Bulls lack of relevance. Put differently, I don’t think anyone should be too surprised to see that LaVine’s first All-Star appearance finally occurred in the first season under a more respectable management team and coaching staff. Not only has his new nucleus led to a better in-game product, but I’m sure it’s changed some perceptions around the league. I’m not saying this played a huge role in LaVine’s first nod or anything, but I have to imagine it was a tiny bit easier for NBA coaches to vote LaVine knowing guys like Billy Donovan and Artruas Karnisovas were now at the helm of the organization.
• Also, like Rivers said, LaVine’s efficiency boost this season made him an undeniable All-Star. To see his effective field goal percentage go from 53.0 percent in 2019-20 (53rd percentile) to 61.9 percent this season (97th percentile) is truly absurd. Averaging nearly 29 points on 19.6 field goal attempt per game as the Bulls go-to scorer makes it even crazier. We probably should wait to see where he ends up at the end of the season, but I think it’s pretty undeniable that LaVine has taken a giant leap toward becoming a cornerstone piece for the new version of this franchise. Later this week, I plan to talk a little bit more about what that could mean financially for this organization, so stay tuned (spoiler alert: basically they offer him a max after next season or figure out some kind of contract extension this offseason).
• #ShouldHaveBeenLaVine
Zion Williamson will replace Joel Embiid as a starter on Team Durant, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 7, 2021
• Elite company.
Five players are averaging 27 points on 50-40-85 shooting this season: Joel Embiid, Kevin Durant, Zach LaVine, Nikola Jokic and Kyrie Irving.
Entering this season, there had been 5 instances TOTAL of a player doing that in a season. pic.twitter.com/chZ92arxzQ
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 6, 2021
• Brb gonna cry
“Dear Zach…”@ZachLaVine’s Mom wrote a letter to her son ahead of his first All-Star game ❤️ pic.twitter.com/qQuQ0Zv3pY
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) March 7, 2021
• I don’t blame LaVine for not doing the dunk contest. As a 2x champion, I can understand that he feels like he has proven himself as one of the best to ever do it. Not to mention, he has worked his ass off to prove he is more than just an athletic freak. I know that an All-Star appearance probably shows people that, but I can totally get why he wouldn’t want to spend his first time being recognized for his all-around play replaying the classics. With that said, I hope everyone in the building knows the best dunker on the court isn’t in the contest.
LaVine toying with the dunk contest field even when not participating: "Obviously, I have some dunks I can still do. I did a pregame dunk not too long ago just to show everybody I could still do it if I wanted to." https://t.co/WlKi6jmDJE
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) March 7, 2021
• Oh, and at least we get to watch him try to get some 3-point contest revenge!
2021 #NBAAllStar 3-Point Contest:
☔️ Steph Curry
☔️ Devin Booker
☔️ Zach LaVine
☔️ Jayson Tatum
☔️ Jaylen Brown
☔️ Donovan Mitchell pic.twitter.com/YFxzY1yIFf— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 3, 2021
• One of my favorite mean mugs.
9 years ago today it was MVP TIME pic.twitter.com/2fFg5snAme
— Bulls Talk (@NBCSBulls) March 7, 2021
• Sorry these bullets are kinda late, I was just doing some online shopping.
A rare Kobe Bryant rookie card sold for nearly $1.8 million at auction this weekend https://t.co/hRFnqaWpap
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) March 7, 2021
