Zach LaVine knows the call is coming.
Even if it is a week later than it should be for the Bulls guard.
The starters for the All-Star Game were named on Thursday, as LaVine finished just out of the running for a backcourt spot, behind teammate DeMar DeRozan and Atlanta’s Trae Young.
LaVine did finish second in the player vote, but the media and fans had him third, and unfortunately for him the fan vote carried the most weight.
He was more than at peace with it, but was just hoping for some clarity on the “narrative.”
Last season, he missed out on being a starter because although his individual numbers were as good as anyone’s, LaVine was told that being on a losing team at the time hurt him.
His individual numbers this season were a bit down, but the Bulls were a first-place team throughout most of the voting process, while Young’s Hawks team has been messing around in play-in territory on the fringe of a playoff spot.
“I’ve done that for the last couple years, won the players’ vote,” LaVine said of the process during his postgame media session, after the loss to the Spurs.
“It’s you [media] guys that don’t like me,” he then said with a laugh. “Nah, I’m just messing around. I’m very happy for DeMar, I’m happy for Trae. You know obviously Trae is very deserving. I felt like I was just as deserving, but every year there’s going to be somebody in and out. I just wish the criteria would stay the same each year.
“Last year, I had a really good year where I had really good stats, but we were on a losing team. I wasn’t in that same position [this season] or the narrative wasn’t the same, but it is what it is. Keep my head down, keep on working. I think I’m going to be an All-Star, either way we’re going to enjoy the weekend.”
LaVine will find that out on Feb. 3, when the rest of the All-Star Teams are named.
But even in explaining his feelings about the NBA’s showcase weekend, LaVine displayed just where mindset currently resides.
In the past, he seemed more irked when not considered one of the NBA’s elite. However, in mid-sentence he pivoted back to what was really atop his priority list.
” … but back to this, this isn’t a good feeling to come out to San Antonio and give up 130 points,” LaVine said. “This season, yeah, you definitely see me a lot more dejected [after losses].”
That’s because LaVine knows that this current Bulls team has a chance to do something special. Not next season or in some mythical window that the outside likes to create.
No, this team, this year.
But if the defensive effort is going to be what it was against the Spurs, and the entire roster knows that Lonzo Ball (knee surgery) and Alex Caruso (wrist surgery) won’t be walking through that door to help with the defense for another six-to-eight weeks, every healthy body has to step up or face the consequence of a promising season lost.
“Obviously you’re not going to replace those guys, that’s what they do,” LaVine said. “AC is known for that, Zo is known for that, we’re not going step in and be as good as them, but as a team and collectively we’ve got to fill those gaps in and still hold on. We just can’t get exploited and give up 130 points.
I don’t care what extra we have to do, I’m for it. We all have to give more effort and understand the moment of what we’re trying to do this year, because this isn’t cutting it.”