Zach LaVine and the Chicago Bulls They know they are in a key season for both. However, the start was far from obvious for a group with playoff ambitions which is in twelfth position in the Eastern Conference with 6 wins and 10 defeats. The player, who has signed a contract for the maximum of five seasons and $215 million, He has yet to show his worth on the court, a discrepancy that became apparent when his coach left him on the bench late in a 107-108 loss to the Orlando Magic.
Billy Donovan he sat the player down with 3:43 left after the guard added 4 points in 26 minutes of playwith a disastrous streak of 1-of-14 and 0-of-5 in triples.
“It’s Billy’s decision. He has to live with it. Do I agree? No”, LaVine warmly said that his on-track performance has dropped off significantly this season. After a meeting between the player and the coach, neither of them relented, but they also asked to move on. “At that moment I made that decision. It was mine and I felt it was the best thing for the team. He knows that I always put the team above everything.”commented the coach after training this Sunday.
LaVine, after undergoing knee surgery in the summer and becoming a father, is average 20.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 4 assists per game with a 41.5% success rate on field goals and 36.2% on triples. These are all lower than his last four seasons at Illinois, where he averaged career-best numbers of 27.4 points, 5 rebounds and 4.9 assists per night in the 2020-2021 season.
“I’m trying to come back fully. I’m where I am and it’s frustratingbut I can be effective compared to what I’m doing, especially in my last game,” commented the player. “Billy and I always talk. It was a tough decision and I’m competitive. I want to play, and I told him that I think I have earned the right to play despite a bad night… My mentality tells me that if I was there I could help the team win. I just wish I had this opportunity and trying a couple more shots”.
For Donovan, the mess is over. In addition to understanding his student’s position, he believes he still deserves the utmost respect for his character and competitiveness. “I get it, he should always want to be on the pitch. All great players have that feeling,” he said. “The thing I admire most about Zach is that he’s a good person no matter what.”
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