It seemed appropriate for the Bulls to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday-evening and advance to East’s sixth seed, behind Zach LaVine’s 35 points the day after LaVine earned his first All-Star roster.
But not for the reason you might think.
Yes, the Bulls acquired LaVine from the Timberwolves when the previous management regime decided to completely rebuild and trade Jimmy Butler in June 2017. And yes, LaVine is the first Bulls’ All-Star since Butler that same year.
But it’s more for this reason: The Timberwolves arrived Wednesday night with Chris Finch coaching his second game since replacing the fired Ryan Saunders. That’s three coaches – Tom Thibodeau, Saunders, Finch – in four years since LaVine left town.
Such sales are commonplace for LaVine, who plays with Billy Donovan for his sixth coach in his seventh NBA season. Flip Saunders, Sam Michell, Thibodeau, Fred Hoiberg, Jim Boylen, Donovan.
But this is why LaVine’s rise to All-Star status in Donovan’s first season with the Bulls is so important. Donovan isn’t going anywhere. Word about the competition is that LaVine isn’t either.
And so, a partnership that got off to a strong, respectful start should only strengthen and grow.
It’s another reason why it makes sense for the Bulls to expand LaVine, whether that’s off-season or next time. Think about what he can accomplish with some coaching stability, especially one of Donovan’s stature?
“Billy has been great, man,” LaVine said. “A total of 180 of what we had last year, because we have pretty much the same team. We’ve had our share of ups and downs, games we should have won and didn’t play the right way. so much different.
“I say this all the time: (Donovan) challenges you and he is so respected and does the right thing. Clearly, we have all been sourced from the ground up. We were ready to fight for this man. “
Donovan uses equally complementary language when asked about LaVine.
My short time with Zach, I’ll say this: In many ways, it’s a shame people don’t get a chance to see who he is as a person behind the scenes. He’s an incredible teammate and a great guy, and I think that showing you talked about with his teammates gets to the heart of how they feel about him personally, ”said Donovan, when asked about the real joy of teammates on LaVine’s All. -Selection of stars. “I would say he’s just as much a player as he is, and he’s played just as well, he’s even a better person than that. I have a lot of respect for his game and for what he’s done and for the the way he has worked and tried to improve and get better, but he’s always been incredibly approachable, he’s been incredibly open-minded.
‘He’s the same man every day. I think consistency plays a big role for a player. As talented and gifted as he is, he’s the same person every day in personality. I always ask him, “How are you?” He says, ‘I am good. I am always good. ‘I think it appeals to him. Guys enjoy being around him, and guys enjoy his company. “
This property of coachability has been noted by other coaches who have coached LaVine. But this collaboration between Donovan and LaVine shows potential.
LaVine’s commitment to becoming a two-way player – a process that former coach Jim Boylen, vilified as he has been, began by challenging him – fits in perfectly with Donovan’s no-nonsense approach to accountability.
Clearly, LaVine is responding to Donovan. He has said he respects how Donovan directly challenges you. But when he says “he’s doing it the right way,” LaVine means this: Donovan does that without looking for credit. He authorizes the player even if he keeps that player to a high standard.
Zach was the one who made those decisions, that he really wanted to focus on becoming a two-way player, that he wanted to focus on winning. It came from him, ”said Donovan. “When you have a player in that place, I think as a coach you are trying to put things on his plate that will put him in a position where he is challenged to face some of the things he wants to face. . ‘Okay, do you want to be a two-way player? This is what it takes, it looks like this. This is what to do. Do you want to be a man who wants to be a leader? Well, you have to come in and be the hardest working man. If you want to be able to hold your teammates accountable, you must first hold yourself accountable. ‘You can’t be the kind of guy who doesn’t do it and say,’ Listen, do what I say, not like me.
“I think it has been a learning process for him. Because I think because he’s so gifted, there’s a lot, ‘Give me the ball, and I’ll just try to take us home and win the game.’ And I think he realized that doesn’t work. So I think there are things he learned in the six years he’s been in the league, I think there are things he learned from last year that made him a better player. I think I come as a coach, I tried to challenge him just to get better in the areas he wanted to get better at. And to be honest, I totally agreed that he watched film when we sat down and talked about areas he wanted to improve. And I think he has been really good at working together and listening to the message from me. “
The reporting is completely consistent when it comes to the desire to win. Donovan and LaVine share it equally and passionately. It’s a relationship up front, the possibilities seemingly endless as long as stability remains in play.
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