After a rather uneventful All-Star weekend that saw him fail to win in the 3-Point shootout, Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine is now turning his attention to the second half of the season.
The Bulls are only five games away from playoff contention in spite of a 19-36 record, so they're not far off in terms of competing in the postseason in the Eastern Conference.
Now, with the drive of making the All-Star Game out of the way, LaVine promised to focus on helping the team make its first playoff series since 2017.
Per Joe Cowley of Chicago Sun-Times:
“I mean, if you’re not confident in yourself or your team, you already lost the battle,’’ LaVine said of starting a playoff push with 27 games left. “Obviously, I’m going out there to win.’’
“For me personally, just to keep the foot on the gas pedal. You never know what’s going to happen. We can’t be on vacation mode yet. Sometimes you come out the break, teams go up or down. Hopefully we’ll be one of the teams that go up.’’
The high-flying guard is fully committed to turning the Bulls into a successful and respected franchise once again. The level of commitment he's given the team is nothing short admirable for a leading figure in a struggling team.
Zach LaVine is doing all of the heavy lifting for the Bulls. He's averaging 25.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game. However, what is important now is how he will lead the team to the postseason with little time remaining.
It is worth noting that the Brooklyn Nets, Orlando Magic and Washington Wizards are all competing for the lower seeds in the East. The Charlotte Hornets and Detroit Pistons are also not too far behind the Bulls, making a playoff push really difficult at this point of the campaign.