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Zach LaVine has been tearing it up on the offensive end for the Chicago Bulls this season, but he has the desire to become better on the other end of the court. After leading the Bulls to a win over the Sacramento Kings on Saturday, LaVine spoke about his improved defense of late, via K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports.
LaVine on improved D: "You get to a point where you’re tired of losing. And you have to figure out you can’t just blame other people. You have to look at yourself and figure out what you have to do better to help. I have all the capabilities to be a really good 2-way player."
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) February 21, 2021
Playing well on the offensive end of the floor has never been a problem for LaVine in his seven seasons in the NBA. But it should be noted that LaVine is currently having a career year in just about every offensive metric.
The former first-round pick of the Timberwolves is currently averaging career-highs in points (28.9) and assists (5.1) per game. He's also shooting a career-best 51.8 percent from the floor and a career-best 42.9 percent from beyond the arc in the first 29 games of the season for Chicago.
While his offensive game is well-polished, LaVine has always been an average defender at best. However, the 25-year-old guard is making a concerted effort to improve on the defensive end in recent games.
LaVine has been part of losing teams his entire career as he's never gotten an opportunity to play in the playoffs yet. The UCLA product believes that he can help the Bulls become a much better team if he can evolve into a capable defender consistently. With the immense athleticism spilling out of his 6-foot-6 guard, there's no reason to think he can't achieve his goal of becoming a two-way player.
We've seen players speak out on their improved defense for stretches of games, only to revert to being a liability on defense again. With that being said, if the Bulls star can consistently contribute on the defensive end, the potential for LaVine moving forward is through the roof.
