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Chicago Bulls head coach clarified his perspective on the effectiveness of the mid-range game in the NBA after Bulls shooting guard Zach LaVine was reportedly told to focus on shooting threes and attacking the rim.
Boylen told reporters (including Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic) that mid-range jumpers can sometimes present the best opportunity for offense, but that he would prefer to get a clean look at the rim or on the perimeter early in the shot clock:
Following Zach LaVine's recent comments about mid-range shots, Bulls coach Jim Boylen clarified his feelings on the mid-range shot. His full exchange with reporters: pic.twitter.com/6zWniq8i49
— Darnell Mayberry (@DarnellMayberry) October 15, 2019
The assessment comes days after LaVine told Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times about his feelings regarding the mid-range game as a “lost art,” and that some of the best scorers in league history were most effective in that range:
“I mean I grew up being a Michael Jordan, Kobe [Bryant] fan,’’ LaVine said. “I know that some of the greatest scores in NBA history were mid-range, mid-post guys. It’s sad to see it be pushed to the side. I mean Carmelo [Anthony] is one of the greatest scorers ever, but he’s out of the NBA right now somewhat because the analytics don’t want mid-range twos.
“I think it takes away a little bit of the skillfulness and it takes away some of the weaponry. But I’ll tell you this, there’s still guys in the NBA – and I think I’m one of them – that can still get it done.’’
LaVine developed into one of the elite scorers in the game last season, averaging 23.7 points on close to 47 percent shooting from the field. However, the Bulls won just 22 games and struggled to find cohesion on both sides of the ball.
Boylen has been on record as saying that Chicago will look to play with pace this season, a system that would appear more well-suited to help rookie point guard Coby White run the offense.
But LaVine is still the premier offensive weapon on the roster, and Boylen surely cannot be upset with his star shooting guard when he bails the Bulls out with a mid-range jumper late in the shot clock.
