Muristek
PHOENIX – Zach LaVine didn’t flinch when discussing his recent slump.
And why should the Bulls guard? He’s from the school of shooters gotta shoot, and he graduated summa cum laude.
“I’m confident in what I do, I work at it every single day, and it’s coming,’’ LaVine said. “I’m going to keep taking those shots, and pretty soon I’ll be back to doing what I do.’’
It wasn’t going to happen on Wednesday against Phoenix, and it definitely wasn’t happening against Devin Booker.
All the Suns shooting guard did was steal the show, scoring 51 points in just three quarters, as the Bulls (9-12) were throttled 132-113.
As for LaVine, he continued to be very un-LaVine-like in the shooting department, going a respectable 7-for-15 from the field, but just 1-for-6 from three.
Over that eight-game span leading into the game with the Suns – maybe the worst shooting slump for LaVine in years – he was 57-of-153 (37%) from the field and just 21-of-72 (29%) from three-point range. He’s been even worse late in games, shooting just 17-of-49 (34.7%) from the field in fourth quarters, and 8-of-28 (28.6%) from three.
To put that in perspective, during his breakout All-Star season in 2020-21, LaVine shot 50.7% from the field and 41.9% from three-point range, while averaging 27.4 points per game that season.
That seemed long ago with the way he’s shot the ball throughout the second half of November.
In LaVine’s defense, he did have a left knee clean-up surgery in the offseason before the organization signed him to a five-year, $215-million max contract extension, so his usual summer workout program was compromised, but there’s also more going on than just rust.
LaVine had been asked about missing bunnies at the rim and just overall inconsistency several times this season, and would give a generic answer about “getting closer.’’
He went into more detail on the topic, asked specifically if it was mental or physical obstacles that he was still dealing with.
“It’s just timing,’’ LaVine said. “Nothing mental. I didn’t get to play, didn’t get to shoot as much as I usually do [in the offseason], but it’s coming. It’s timing. There’s stretches I’m feeling like my old self and then other stretches where I’m trying to get that timing right.
“But I’m not going to be too hard on myself. It’s frustrating because I don’t expect to be shooting like this. I hold myself to an extremely high standard, but I got to understand that for me to get out of this I’ve got to stay confident and continue to take my shots. I know that. Sh-t, I work too hard at this so it’s going to come through and I’ll be getting back to what I do.’’
The problem on Wednesday was a defense that allowed Booker to do what he does.
Like LaVine, Booker signed a contract extension in the summer, but his was a supermax that paid him $224 million over four years.
All Booker did in that opening half against the visiting Bulls was go 10-for-14 from the field for 25 points, doing a lot of his damage in the mid-range area and at the rim. Meanwhile, LaVine continued his struggles, going 1-for-6 from the field, including an 0-for-3 display from three-point range.
“[Booker] got too much in a rhythm, and a guy like that gets hot it’s too late,’’ LaVine said. “He gets it going and it’s over.’’
Even with coach Billy Donovan trying everything he could to slow Booker down.
“We threw everything at him,’’ Donovan said. “We trapped him, threw a box-and-one at him. He really, really got it going.’’
Donovan’s hope is that LaVine can follow suit, and soon.