PORTLAND, Ore. — His nine-point first quarter against the Trail Blazers on Sunday night was nothing new.
Everything looks simple for Zach LaVine these days: his driving layup with 5:33 left in the quarter, the six-footer in the paint a few minutes later, then the 21-foot step-back that looked like an easy flick of the wrist for the two-time All-Star.
He ended up with a game-high 27 points in the Bulls’ 113-102 loss to Portland.
LaVine is playing his best basketball in years, and coach Billy Donovan reiterated that he’s also possibly in the best frame of mind of his career.
“I’ve had a conversation with him, and he can’t lose it,” Donovan said of LaVine’s upbeat attitude. “Whatever it is, he can’t lose it. We obviously had a discussion with him about what it is, but, like I said, everybody goes through different things in their life or different reflection points, and I think the one thing I’ve always admired about him is that most of our conversations are generally centered around basketball, and he always talked about things he wants to do better, things he felt he didn’t do well enough the year before, and he’s always trying to make strides toward that.
“Whatever he did to evaluate the situation and what happened last year, the surgery and all those things, I’m not privy to, but he kind of took the approach of, ‘I’ve had a lot of time to reflect.’ And whatever he digested or reflected, he’s been great in the locker room, he’s been great off the court, he’s been great with our guys. There’s been numerous times this year where he’s come into my office and said to me, ‘Hey, I feel like this player is struggling a little bit. Is there anything I can talk to them about?’ ’’
These are all great compliments from Donovan, but the hope is word of LaVine’s turnaround doesn’t fall on deaf ears around the rest of the league.
There haven’t been serious talks with another team to acquire LaVine. Phone calls have been made, but that’s about it.
Time is not on the Bulls’ side, either.
There are only nine more games before the Feb. 6 trade deadline for a team that is 18-25 and has lost five consecutive winnable games.
LaVine came into the game against the Trail Blazers averaging 28.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists in January and shooting 55.2% from the field and 49.1% from three-point range.
But that’s not the only selling point. If a team is looking to add him, it is getting a veteran who understands what leadership is all about.
“I think he’s always had a great relationship with guys, but I think from a leadership standpoint, he’s looking at it through the lens of, ‘OK, how can I help this guy on the court?’ ’’ Donovan said. “The relationship piece, he’s always had that with his teammates, but give him credit. He’s trying to invest in helping some guys when they’ve gone through a difficult time or a hard stretch.
“I think it’s probably his evolution as a man and as a player.”
Besides LaVine’s scoring output against Portland, Nikola Vucevic had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Patrick Williams added 15 points.
Allowing second-chance points and committing turnovers have been the big issues for the Bulls during this season-high skid.