INDIANAPOLIS — Early All-Star fan voting wasn’t expected to be favorable for Bulls center Nikola Vucevic or guard Zach LaVine, who are going to need support from the media and/or fellow players to make the roster for next month’s game.
Consider coach Billy Donovan their campaign manager.
“You get a chance to see those guys play every night, and there’s no question in my mind, just based on what these guys have performed through, [that] they have [played] at an All-Star level,” Donovan said Wednesday. “Both of those two have. I think the stats will back that up.”
Besides the Knicks’ Karl-Anthony Towns, few centers in the Eastern Conference have all-around numbers like Vucevic’s. Ahead of Wednesday night’s 129-113 loss to the Pacers, he was averaging 20.5 points and 10.2 rebounds per game and shooting 42.4% from three-point range.
Yet, when the first fan-voting results came in last week, Vucevic wasn’t listed in the top 10. It doesn’t help his cause that centers are lumped into the “frontcourt” category, but Towns, the 76ers’ Joel Embiid and the Cavaliers’ Evan Mobley did make the top 10.
LaVine, with 23.1 points per game, was 14th in the East among guards. None of the players ahead of him had better than his 50.9% shooting from the field or 44.7% shooting from three-point range.
“What Zach has shot from the three-point line, what he’s shot from the field, I think he’s taken on a lot of defensive challenges,” Donovan said. “He’s played both ends of the floor.
“I think Vooch, historically if you were to look at his numbers, up to this point, he has shot the ball probably at a career rate for him, and he’s been an All-Star before. No doubt, I feel those guys should definitely be under consideration to make the All-Star Game.”
The next batch of fan results is expected Thursday. But LaVine and Vucevic shouldn’t hold their breath on their positions improving — especially LaVine, who finished with a game-high 31 points Wednesday. Missing almost half of last season after foot surgery has been a tough narrative to overcome even as he plays well.
“It’s unfortunately ‘out of sight, out of mind,’ so to speak,” Donovan said. “Certainly, he has established himself as this is what he’s done for a good portion of his career when you look at his numbers.”
Run-up to a return
Guard Ayo Dosunmu is running on a treadmill without pain — a significant hurdle cleared in his rehabilitation of an injured right calf, which has kept him out the last seven games.
Donovan said Dosunmu is now ready to start cutting and sprinting. If all goes well, he’ll just need a few full-contact scrimmages before he can return.
“I don’t have an exact date he’ll be ready, but they’ll start ramping him up,” Donovan said. “We’ll see how he responds to [running and cutting].”
Torrey’s story
The news Wednesday wasn’t as promising for veteran reserve forward Torrey Craig, who has a nerve injury in his knee. Although Craig is improving, Donovan said rest is the only way for the injury to totally heal. There’s not yet a target date for his return.