Year 3 of the Bulls rebuild, and the body blows keep coming.
Injuries, bad losses, disappointing play, so of course the organization was hoping Thursday would give them a small win.
Not on the court, the team was idle and enjoying some R&R in Brooklyn. No, this was a win that would have at least justified the roster development going in the right direction.
That’s what Zach LaVine making the All-Star Team as a reserve would have meant.
Instead, more disappointment in a season running out of room in that drawer.
The reserve teams were announced – as voted on by the coaches – and LaVine was on the outside looking in, even with the Feb 14-16 festivities taking place in Chicago, his own backyard.
“I think it’s the next step in our progression,’’ coach Jim Boylen said earlier this week, when asked what LaVine making the All-Star team would have meant for the organization. “We’d like to win, we’d like to play good basketball every night. Good teams that win more have All-Stars. To me it’s important for the organization, it’s important for him, and it’s a great story.’’
Now it’s just a “what if?’’
Sure, LaVine was considered to be just on the All-Star fringe, so if a player pulls out because of injury, LaVine could still be in play for a spot.
Either way, LaVine knew it might not be an easy path into the game, considering all the other backcourt competition in the Eastern Conference, as well as where the Bulls were in the standings.
LaVine might be 12th in the league in scoring with 25.1 points per game, but playing on a 19-31 Bulls team, and one that is 1-19 against teams with a record of .500 or better, doesn’t exactly scream All-Star DNA.
“It makes sense because they’re playing for something more than us, they’re going to postseason, competing for championships and things like that and that’s where you want to strive to be so I guess you can make an argument for that,’’ LaVine said last week, when discussing why winning helps in the All-Star candidacy.
The sixth-year guard also wasn’t going to criticize the voting system.
The All-Star starters are voted in by a mixture of the fans, current players, and members of the media. That’s how a Trae Young gets in, despite his Atlanta Hawks sitting at a dismal 12-36.
“It’s just something that you’re used to being in this culture,’’ LaVine said of the process. “I been in the NBA for six years, been able to get some votes for the last two-to-three. Before my knee injury I got some votes. It’s all I really know so I don’t really have any comments on [the process] because it’s just what you grew up in.’’
While LaVine won’t be in the game, however, he could still entertain the home crowd. He was hoping for an invite to the Three-point Contest, and hasn’t completely ruled out a return to a Dunk Contest he’s won twice before.
But there is also a bigger picture his coach is hoping LaVine sees and understands. The Bulls will take on Brooklyn on Friday and then play in Toronto on Sunday. They currently trail the Nets by three games for the No. 8 playoff seed, with the Feb. 6 trade deadline looming.
There’s a lot at stake over the next week.
“I don’t premeditate us not playing well or not competing,’’ Boylen said of this weekend. “I don’t do that. This group has not done that. We’ve played well, we’ve played poorly, we’ve played hard. We’ve had nights where we didn’t play as hard as we liked. We have nights we’ve played really well. That’s what a young team is, that’s what we do.’’
