Chicago Sports Exchange: Zach LaVine Fairs Well in All-Star Debut, Hawks Stick it to Themselves
LaVine's Bulls also preparing for a tough road ahead going into season's 2nd half
It’s kind of ironic that, in his quest to become the first player to pair his slam dunk contest trophies with one from the three-point contest, Zach LaVine fell three points shy of another historical mark.
Don’t you think?
LaVine was that close to tying Bob Love for the most points scored by a Chicago Bull (16) in his All-Star Game debut.
Though history evaded the Bulls’ current scoring machine, opportunity and highlight-worthy plays did not. LaVine flushed home a half court alley-oop from Donovan Mitchell late in the first quarter then flipped in an acrobatic layup off a James Harden bounce pass moments later.
LaVine wound up 13 points on a typically-efficient 50 percent shooting performance complete with four rebounds, three assists and three steals in 28 minutes.
Though his “short-handed” Team Durant squad lost 170-150 to Team LeBron, LaVine put on a show just like he said he would.
HOLD - Available Bulls Will Say Lots About Team’s Upcoming Chances
So much quality competition, so little room for error.
The Bulls (16-18) return to action Thursday against Eastern Conference leader Philadelphia in the first of nine games they’ll play this month against teams currently slated for the playoffs (though the Sixers may be without Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons due to the health and safety protocols that forced them out of All-Star Game competition).
With the Bulls having a dozen such contests under their belt to this point with only four wins to show for it, this part of the calendar is as unsettling as it intriguing.
On one hand, it could serve as a catapult toward an improved station within the conference’s hierarchy. On the other hand, it could lead to unintentional entry into the Cade Cunningham sweepstakes, as just three games currently mean the difference between the fourth seed and being on the outside looking in at the play-in tournament.
In other words, the Bulls can ill afford as slow of a start to the second half of the season as Zach LaVine could finding his touch in the three-point shooting contest against Mike Conley and eventual champion Steph Curry Sunday.
Whether or not they’ll have Chandler Hutchison (personal reasons), Otto Porter Jr. (back) and Lauri Markkanen (shoulder) against the 76ers Thursday, Miami Friday or Toronto Sunday is anyone’s guess.
Markkanen would seem the closest of the three to a return as the two-to-four week timeline given for his recovery ends today.
The Bulls have gone 8-5 since that entire trio’s been out.
BUY - Blackhawks Exhibiting More Talent, Even Against Top Competition
Yet another promising start to a duel with Tampa Bay ended in shockingly awful fashion for the Hawks Sunday.
But unlike their tenth-of-a-second loss to the Lightning in overtime Friday, the Hawks (13-8-5) were buried under an avalanche of six unanswered goals in this one. Worse still, they essentially triggered it themselves with a second period made for incineration.
Turnovers, defensive lapses and penalties (including Connor Murphy’s match penalty major) in that period alone undid an early three-goal shutout and prevented the Hawks from taking more than three of a possible six points from the defending champions in the three-game set.
That they were in position to come away with more after looking woefully outmatched in a pair of season-opening losses to the defending Stanley Cup champion Lightning, is a credit to both the Hawks’ grit and growth.
After all, they’ve been without Jonathan Toews, Kirby Dach, Alex Nylander, and recent retiree Brent Seabrook from the jump. Concussions have kept Andrew Shaw (longterm injured reserve) and Dylan Strome (injured reserve) off the ice since mid-February and Calvin de Haan is still nursing a leg injury he suffered Friday.
They won’t, however, be without Murphy who, according to Jeremy Colliton today, dodged suspension for what was ruled an illegal check to the head of Erik Cernak during that forgettable second period Sunday.
That’s good news.
Even better, Dach fully participated in his first practice with the team today since breaking his wrist in December and is traveling with the Hawks as they embark on a six-game road trip beginning with a two-game set at Dallas (7-8-5) Tuesday.
Though Colliton told the media Dach “still has a ways to go” before he resumes game action, the sheer optimism for him to return from what was thought to be a season-ending injury is a much needed pick-me-up.
Drew Stevens is a Senior Writer for WARR Media, he lives and works in Chicago