Zach LaVine makes new playoff vow as current chance fades originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
For all practical purposes, Tuesday night was a playoff game for Zach LaVine.
For the Bulls to have any kind of chance of even sneaking into a play-in situation -- which then would necessitate two victories to earn a playoff berth -- they had to beat the elite Brooklyn Nets at the United Center.
LaVine has made making the playoffs for his first time in seven seasons a public goal. Not only is he tired of losing, but he’s tired of the label that he, after years of losing with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Bulls, can’t be part of winning basketball.
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The Bulls possess very little margin of error on most nights, a dynamic that is intensified against a team as powerful as the Nets. LaVine, with 41 points, came up big. Too many of his teammates, unfortunately, came up small.
And now the Bulls need a miracle. They need to beat the Toronto Raptors, Nets (again) and Milwaukee Bucks and hope the Washington Wizards lose to the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Charlotte Hornets. That’s it. That’s the only pathway.
“We didn’t do enough throughout the season to put us in position,” a dejected LaVine said postgame. “There were a lot of games that we could’ve won and we were talking about earlier where we’d be sitting here at this time of the year with some of the losses that we had that we should’ve won and the record that we should’ve had. It’s always what we should’ve did. Yada, yada, yada.
“We put ourselves in this boat. Obviously, I’m riding along in it. So it’s upsetting and you gotta be accountable. It sucks, though. Obviously, I want to be in the playoffs and be on that stage. Obviously, we’re just not there yet.”
LaVine earned his first All-Star appearance this season. He posted his 14th game of 35 or more points, a career-high for a season. He posted his 14th 40-point game as a Bull, passing Bob Love to move into sole possession of second place -- just a bit behind Michael Jordan’s 165 such games.
But LaVine isn’t chasing history. He’s chasing one stinking playoff appearance. And in a season in which he took his game to another level, it’s looking grim.
“It sucked last year too,” LaVine said. “I’ve been making strides each and every year. I’m going to continue to do that. But it’s not about me. I would love to have just the opportunity to go out there and play and compete and showcase what I can do on a bigger stage. I’m going to get there. But we just have to work for it.”
The addition of Nikola Vučević was supposed to solidify the Bulls’ chances this season. It certainly will next season, even if Vučević endured a rare off shooting night by missing 13 of 18 shots.
Vučević, who has played in 11 playoff games, doesn’t want to hear anything about the notion that LaVine can’t be part of winning basketball.
“He makes the game so much easier for everyone. His ability to just score in many different ways helps our team in many ways,” Vučević said. “Obviously the scoring, but also then teams are gonna have to focus on him and help on him and it's gonna open up stuff for us.
“He had [41], but it looked so easy for him. He didn't really force anything. He didn't really have to work as hard for it. It just kind of came naturally and it just shows how gifted a scorer he is, how the game comes easy to him and how skilled he is. And that's where it's also more frustrating for me because I felt like I didn't help him when he had a huge game. If I had done my part, we could have had a better chance.”
LaVine’s playoff dream isn’t officially dead yet. But it’s on life support.
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