Getty Zach LaVine #8 of the Chicago Bulls plays during the 2021-22 regular season.
How can the Chicago Bulls make up for the expected absence of Lonzo Ball? By taking the ball out of Zach LaVine’s hands more. Not entirely, of course. That would be counterintuitive with one of the game’s best scorers.
But, because of his prowess in putting the ball in the basket, perhaps he could be utilized better.
LaVine re-signed with the Bulls on the richest deal in franchise history at $215 million over the next five years.
If the Bulls want to maximize him and their overall potential, it might behoove them to give him fewer on-ball reps this coming season than he has had since coming to the Bulls via trade five years ago.
Zach LaVine Needs to Shoot More Threes
“There’s just not any excuses anymore for Zach LaVine to be shooting 4.0 threes a game,” argued Mark Karantzoulis during the ‘CHGO_Bulls Podcast’ recently. “That needs to be 8.0 [attempts] a game…We spoke about LaVine not too long ago in the fact that we would love to see him more in a catch-and-shoot type role. That’s where you can get meaningful replacement for Lonzo’s shooting.”
For the record, LaVine averaged 7.1 threes per game last season. But that was more than a full attempt fewer for the two-time All-Star and former Slam Dunk champion.
He was still second on the Bulls in three-point attempts and third in efficiency last season.
“Zach is…one of the best shooters in the NBA,” Karantzoulis stated. “And the fact that he is a career 39% shooter from three…And the volume of that is mostly on pull-ups just by nature of who the Bulls have been and the fact that he’s had to be on the ball so much. There’s just so much scope in terms of what he can be as a shooter.”
LaVine’s three-point attempt rate last season was 40.1%. That is the lowest it’s been in three years. His usage rate hit 28.8%, its lowest mark in five years
The dips coincide with the arrival of new teammates last summer.
Get Zach LaVine Off the Ball
Karantsoulis’ co-host, Will Gottlieb, added that the Bulls would do well to get LaVine some more catch-and-shoot looks.
Gottlieb said he would like to see LaVine get up 20 shots per game with 10 being threes.
“I want to see him become somebody that the Bulls look to more off the ball…And it’s not just put him in a Klay Thompson role where he’s just running around catching and shooting threes. But I do think that needs to be a decently important part of his game because…they don’t have anybody else who can do it. And Zach is one of the best in the league at it. And I think he should get more shots anyway.”
Shooters shoot! @ZachLaVine #BullsNation
Interestingly, LaVine attempted the most assisted threes of his Bulls tenure this past season.
And his pull-up attempts have dropped from last season, though that has not been to the benefit of his catch-and-shoot ability.
To Gottlieb’s point, LaVine shot 46% on catch-and-shoot threes last season. He shot 48.5% on catch-and-shoot looks and 41.2% on all threes before he suffered a knee injury. The Bulls lost Ball in the same game LaVine aggravated his knee, a blowout loss to the Golden State Warriors.
LaVine’s attempts remained the same after that.
But his efficiency fell with the guard connecting on just 42.9% of his catch-and-shoot triples without Ball to help set him up.
Warning on Zach LaVine’s Health
LaVine had arthroscopic surgery to correct some discomfort in his knee. He still managed to suit up for 67 games during the regular season and all but the final playoff tilt. Following the procedure, LaVine said that the knee is feeling “great”.
But Brian Windhorst cautioned fans expecting to see the LaVine of old right out of the gates next season during a recent episode of “The Hoop Collective” podcast.
“Zach LaVine is coming off of knee surgery too. Now, that was also deemed a “minor arthroscopic procedure”…I wouldn’t expect him to be at 100%. Just because, even if he’s feeling great, knee surgery takes some time.”
LaVine has been posting videos of himself in the gym this summer and he appears to be moving well.
But the real challenge won’t come until the opener against the Miami Heat on October 19.