PHILADELPHIA – All the reports have been positive.
Zach LaVine (right foot) had a hard practice day with the Windy City Bulls G-League team Monday in Chicago, a light day on Tuesday, and was planning to put in another intense workout on Wednesday.
According to coach Billy Donovan, as long as there were no setbacks for LaVine, a return on Friday when the Bulls host Charlotte was not out of the question.
What remained a question: What kind of LaVine would they get back?
“Obviously I talk to him in the building pretty regularly, and I think he’s always been whatever he can do to help the team has kind of been his mentality, it’s always been,” Donovan said. “I think he sees how we’re playing, what we’re doing, and the thing he would want to do is to come in and contribute and make it better. From my talks with him and the way he is in terms of what he’s seeing, what he’s viewing, that’s all I’ve gotten back from him. To me it’s been really positive, all of our conversations. To me he wants to help the group as much as he can.”
And that’s the kicker in all of this.
It’s not like the Bulls have needed LaVine’s help lately. In the 15 games he missed entering this week, the Bulls were 10-5 and playing some of the best basketball on both ends of the floor since the start of the 2021-22 season.
The hope for LaVine and the Bulls is that he only adds to the chemistry and doesn’t disrupt it.
“It’s not so much that he has to change his game,” Donovan said. “It’s what he does really, really well, can he bring that to the table for us? Him shooting the basketball for us, especially us generating more three-point shots is important, we’ve been a team that hasn’t generated a lot of threes. He’s a guy that can do that. I think he can see some of that stuff. Being quick and decisive with his decision making, the ball continuing to move, and everybody playing off each other, all of those things are important.”
Wanting to play the right way has never been an issue with the two-time All-Star. Where it gets tricky for LaVine is him getting lost in between wanting to play the right way and actually playing the right way.
He’s a bad-shot maker, which also means he’s a bad-shot taker. Then there’s also the hero-ball mentality that he falls into, often ignoring open teammates and better shots.
“I also think that when you’re an offensive player like a DeMar (DeRozan) or a Zach, perimeter players, a lot of times when the game gets in the balance or things aren’t going well, they feel the responsibility to take it upon themselves … ‘I’ve got to save this five-minute stretch that’s been really bad. We’re losing momentum.,’ “ Donovan said. “We’ve got to trust each other and how we’re playing. Anytime we get to that place it’s, ‘That’s my responsibility. I’m an All-Star, I’ve got to go do something.’ There are ways to do it where we can maintain stylistically how we’re trying to play.”
If LaVine’s foot is not ready for Friday, the next bet would be Monday in Charlotte, giving him another two days over the weekend.
Slow going
Like LaVine, Nikola Vucevic stayed back in Chicago to continue his rehab from a groin strain, working with the medical team in that process.
A process, however, that had him only doing some light jogging and stationary shooting. No clear timetable for a return was in place for the center, however.