Zach LaVine didn’t exactly enjoy the wait, but the Bulls guard had a pretty strong feeling all along of how it was going to end.
He would get that expected news on Thursday.
Falling short in the voting process to be named an All-Star starter last week, LaVine was named to his second consecutive All-Star Game, picked by the NBA coaches as a reserve before taking the floor in Toronto.
Considering his numbers for a first-place team, LaVine only wished there was a more consistent narrative to the process. Last season, he made the team as a reserve under the shadow of where the Bulls were in the standings, despite his ridiculous stats. This time around, his numbers were a bit down, but the Bulls sure weren’t.
“I wasn’t in that same position [this season] or the narrative wasn’t the same, but it is what it is,” LaVine said of the process. “Keep my head down, keep on working. … Either way we’re going to enjoy the weekend.”
And he won’t be alone.
DeMar DeRozan already made the team as a starter, Ayo Dosunmu was named to the rookie team in the Rising Stars Game, and Billy Donovan was still in position to be named an All-Star coach.
What a difference one season makes, when the Bulls were falling all over themselves by just getting LaVine into the league’s showcase weekend.
“I think it’s great,” Donovan said of the difference in one season. “Anytime you’re in a position where you’re very, very competitive and you’re in the thick of things, I think players get rewarded from that. I think Zach last year, even with where our record was, I know it didn’t happen until the last week or two of the regular season that we knew it was going to be really difficult to make the play-in game, but at this point and time we were still fighting for that, and I think Zach’s respect across the league by players of his ability and his talent is really incredible.”
LaVine entered the game with the Raptors 13th in the league with 24.9 points per game, and was obviously second to DeRozan in that category for the team lead. He was also averaging 4.8 rebounds and 4.3 assists, while shooting 48.4% from the field.
What the basic stats fail to recognize about LaVine this season? The effort and improvement he’s made on the defensive end. That’s what opened up eyes around the league, demonstrated over the summer.
“As they were selecting the USA Team, Pop [Gregg Popovich], [USA Director] Sean Ford, had called me, as they were piecing together the team, a lot of the players that were on that team had gone to Pop and Sean Ford and people in USA, really endorsing Zach as a player,” Donovan said. “That speaks to him. He’s really evolved and he’s gotten better.
“I’ve been with him, this is not even two years, but just watching him grow and develop last year, and then watching him come into this season, the work that he put into this summer to try and get better … I’ve said this before about players, sometimes guys evolve and grow at different times and different paces and speeds, but I think Zach continues to get better and better. He’s a huge, huge part of what we’ve done so far at this point and time.”
Minute men
The Bulls started a run of four games in five nights and seven games in 10 nights on Thursday, and better believe Donovan will keep a close eye on his starters and the possibility of resting them a game if need be.
“It will definitely be a physical toll on these guys and we’ll have to monitor that closely,” Donovan said.