Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine has been on the receiving end of a wave of backlash after his forgettable performance in their do-or-die Play-In battle with the Miami Heat on Friday.

LaVine was phenomenal in the Play-In against the Toronto Raptors, exploding for 39 points, six rebounds and three assists to propel the Bulls to the 109-105 win. Many expected him to step up once again, especially in the crucial meeting with the Heat that would decide who gets to make the playoffs as the eighth seed and who goes home.

Unfortunately, the high-flying guard basically disappeared in Miami, as he finished with just 15 points on 6-of-21 shooting. He failed to make any of his six attempts from deep in the contest, and it eventually came back haunting the team.

The Bulls allowed the Heat to go on a 15-1 run in the final four minutes of play, allowing Miami to pull away with the 102-91 victory.

Sure enough, many blamed LaVine for the disaster, especially since it would have been an easy win for the Bulls had he played better and produced like usual. LaVine averaged 24.8 points on 48.5 percent shooting throughout the 2022-23 season.

While Zach LaVine is definitely not the lone reason the Bulls lostā€“who allows a 15-1 run in a crucial game anyway?ā€“there's no denying that there were higher expectations on him and he simply didn't deliver.

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The Bulls now head to the offseason with plenty to think about. The Zach LaVine-DeMar DeRozan duo just hasn't worked as they expected, and it might be time to reconsider their options as they look to build a contender.