Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine recently returned to the lineup after missing the entire first half of the season to recover from an ACL tear. In the five games LaVine has played, he's averaged 12.8 points and 4.4 rebounds, per Basketball-Reference.
In the first four games, LaVine played less than 20 minutes, while getting a slight bump to 24 minutes on Sunday. But it looks like LaVine will get another minutes increase in the coming days, per K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune.
This is Zach LaVine’s 3rd game at 24-minute limit. Hoiberg said staff will meet tomorrow for expected increase.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) January 24, 2018
LaVine was one of the pieces the Bulls thought was going to be significant when they acquired him, but it was a bad stroke of luck when he tore his ACL in February of last season. He's been working hard in his rehab in order to get back to full strength, and the minutes restriction is helping him with that, as he works his way back in to game shape.
The Bulls have won three of the five games in which LaVine has played, adding to the upswing Chicago has recently enjoyed. And if the team is winning even though LaVine isn't playing many minutes, increasing his playing time will only help.
Just how much LaVine's minutes will increase remains to be seen. It's hard to imagine they'd go up to some crazy number like 35 minutes. It's more likely that LaVine will be allowed to play anywhere between 28 and 30 minutes once the coaching staff meets to discuss it.
But one thing is for sure — this young Bulls team might be for real, and LaVine is one of the pieces making that true.
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