Zach LaVine wants to be the closer.
The Bulls guard has never been one to shy away from that.
Heck, he’s even had more than a few instances the past two seasons in which he’s put the cape on come crunch time, and delivered.
Just not enough, and definitely not against the NBA’s upper-echelon teams, considering the Bulls are 1-13 this season when playing an opponent sitting at .500 or better.
The loss to Utah on Thursday was just the latest crash landing in LaVine’s attempt at hero ball.
Coach Jim Boylen won’t be looking to change that closer role, either. He’s calling the No. 8 late in games, and wants the No. 8 to finish them.
“Yeah, I think he’s done it,’’ Boylen said, when asked if LaVine has the DNA to be an NBA finisher. “He’s done it before. He made the play in Washington where he dropped it off for the layup. He made the and-1 against the Clippers here [in the United Center] to win the game. He’s done it, and we’re going to keep putting him in those situations, we’re going to keep believing in him.’’
If only the numbers did.
The only quarter in which LaVine’s shooting percentage is below 40 percent is in the fourth — where it’s 39.5 percent. That’s not including his 1-for-7 in overtime.
He’s also shooting 38.6 percent when the game is within five points, as opposed to 45 percent when it’s between six-to-10 points and 47.3 percent when the lead is more than 10. When there’s less than three minutes left in a quarter, LaVine is shooting 39 percent from the field, as opposed to 45.3 percent in the three-to-six minute range and 42 percent when there are more than six minutes left in a quarter.
Those numbers are natural for most of the NBA population, considering defensive intensity picking up late in quarters and in tight games. But it also doesn’t exactly scream “elite NBA finisher.’’
Then grab the late-game fingerprints of a Jimmy Butler this season, and when a game is within five points for the former Bull, he’s shooting 43.5 percent from the field and 36.1 from three. When it’s 10 points or more, Butler is shooting 38.1 percent from the field and 25 percent from three.
Again, stats that might not tell the whole story, but put the framework in place.
But LaVine is Boylen’s best option for right now, and the coach won’t be looking to pull the plug on that anytime soon. Not the only plug he’s not pulling, either.
While many in the organization were selling playoffs at the start of the season, Boylen was quick to point out development first and foremost, with the hope that winning would join in along the way. He’s still selling that, and doubling down on the priorities he’s trying to get accomplished with this group.
So any ideas of a switch in the offensive philosophy or even the coach going to the front office and asking for different personnel, well, not happening.
“We are laying the foundation and the building blocks for this,’’ Boylen said. “We’re in a new system, with a new team, with a new coach, and I wanted to be a defensive team. We are. Needed to improve our rebounding, needed to improve our defending without fouling and we needed to improved offensively. Those are the things I’m going to work on, and I’m not going to be deterred from that mission. I’m not.
“I like this group of men. They work and they care. They try and represent the city and play hard, and we’re going to keep working at it.’’
