Victim of a left knee alert against the Warriors on January 14, and after several weeks of joint discomfort, Zach LaVine finally missed ten days and five competitive matches.
It’s not much, but it was already a lot for the All-Star, who couldn’t wait to put the sneakers back on.
“I was tired of sitting at home watching the matches”, he tells ESPN. “I’m healthy, as good as I can be. It sucks being stuck at home not being able to help the band. I didn’t want to wait any longer. “
The Chicago guard had 23 points in the win over the Thunder, with 7 rebounds and 7 assists. He turned the ball very well but, lacking rhythm, he was very clumsy with an ugly 6/19 on the shot and 3/10 behind the arc.
Nevertheless, his performance is valuable since Billy Donovan took advantage of the return of Zach LaVine (and that of Javonte Green) to blow DeMar DeRozan, for the first time this season, who had been playing 36 minutes on average for ten days.
Organizational management is important in Illinois with the Bulls plagued by injuries recently. Alex Caruso, shot in the wrist, and Lonzo Ball, in the knee, will be out for about two months, the duo LaVine – DeRozan will therefore have to fuel.
“Everyone has to deal with this”analyzes the Tokyo Olympic champion. “Nobody’s going to care. We have to learn to play like that. I am satisfied with the way we fight. That’s why I wanted to come back and get my hands dirty. I couldn’t stay home knowing I can help. “
| Zach LaVine | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2014-15 | MIN | 77 | 25 | 42.2 | 34.1 | 84.2 | 0.4 | 2.4 | 2.8 | 3.6 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 0.1 | 10.1 |
| 2015-16 | MIN | 82 | 28 | 45.2 | 38.9 | 79.3 | 0.3 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 3.1 | 2.4 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 0.2 | 14.0 |
| 2016-17 | MIN | 47 | 37 | 45.9 | 38.7 | 83.6 | 0.4 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 3.0 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 1.8 | 0.2 | 18.9 |
| 2017-18 | CHI | 24 | 27 | 38.3 | 34.1 | 81.3 | 0.4 | 3.5 | 3.9 | 3.0 | 2.3 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 0.2 | 16.7 |
| 2018-19 | CHI | 63 | 35 | 46.7 | 37.4 | 83.2 | 0.6 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 2.2 | 1.0 | 3.4 | 0.4 | 23.7 |
| 2019-20 | CHI | 60 | 35 | 45.0 | 38.0 | 80.2 | 0.7 | 4.1 | 4.8 | 4.2 | 2.2 | 1.5 | 3.4 | 0.5 | 25.5 |
| 2020-21 | CHI | 58 | 35 | 50.7 | 41.9 | 84.9 | 0.6 | 4.4 | 5.0 | 4.9 | 2.4 | 0.8 | 3.5 | 0.5 | 27.4 |
| 2021-22 | CHI | 38 | 34 | 49.1 | 41.2 | 87.2 | 0.3 | 4.5 | 4.8 | 4.2 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 2.8 | 0.3 | 25.0 |
| Total | 449 | 32 | 46.1 | 38.8 | 82.9 | 0.5 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 2.7 | 0.3 | 19.6 | |
