“Even at 70 or 80 percent, I’m still one of the best players in the league, and I’m definitely one of the best players on the field every game. »
It is with these words that Zach LaVinelast March, was trying to convince himself that the discomfort he had been feeling for several months in his left knee was not that big of a problem.
The reality was of course quite different since the rear of Chicago, who had therefore chosen to grit his teeth and deal with this pain since December, was clearly physically weakened and was no longer the same player in the second part of season, especially in the playoffs.
So, a month after the elimination against the Bucks, he went to the pool table to undergo an arthroscopy and relieve this left knee which prevented him from evolving to the maximum of his capacities.
Thus, on the eve of the launch of this new 2022/23 season, it is therefore a Zach LaVine freed from a weight that comes back to business.
” I just feel good. And I think that’s the most important, to no longer feel any stiffness or pain, and to be able to go out into the field without thinking about certain limitations. » he thus confided. ” For instance [la saison dernière], I said to myself that I could not attack on the left because of my knee, or that I was not sure of being able to go up to the dunk on such or such action. The kind of thoughts we want to avoid. »
But while those bad memories are now a thing of the past, the former Wolves player understands he still needs to be careful, as this is the second time his left knee has been operated on, following his cruciate ligament rupture in 2017 .
” I will continue to monitor, to do maintenance. This is how I have to after having two operations on the same knee. I have to think of a whole bunch of little things to make sure I stay at my best he concludes.
| Zach LaVine | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | 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 | 67 | 35 | 47.6 | 38.9 | 85.3 | 0.3 | 4.3 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 2.6 | 0.3 | 24.4 |
| Total | 478 | 32 | 46.1 | 38.6 | 83.0 | 0.5 | 3.5 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 2.7 | 0.3 | 19.8 | |
