Chicago Bulls' LaVine shows promising signs as a scorer
For the Chicago Bulls to survive the early part of the season, it might help if Zach LaVine matches his latest preseason performance every night.
LaVine scored 26 points in 25 minutes, hitting 9 of 15 shots in the process, along with 4 3-pointers. Back at full strength after ACL surgery, LaVine is trying to show he can become a go-to scorer and all-star contender this season.
Tuesday at the Advocate Center, coach Fred Hoiberg put a qualifier on LaVine's scoring outburst.
"Yeah, Zach needs to be aggressive, no doubt about it, but it's being aggressive in the right way and taking the right shots," Hoiberg said. "I love when Zach attacks the basket, and we've got several of those examples on film of getting into the paint and generally good things happen when you get a play at the rim.
"We shot 26 free throws last night (at Charlotte), that's a good number. We had 44 (points) in the paint. Again, we made it too hard on ourselves last night by taking contested shots and bailing out the defense. We just settled for too many contested shots."
Valentine still out:
Denzel Valentine did not return to practice Tuesday, which means he's unlikely to play at all during the preseason.
Valentine suffered a sprained left ankle in the first practice of training camp and the plan was to reevaluate in two weeks, which arrived Tuesday. The Bulls have two preseason games left, both at home, on Wednesday against Indiana and Friday against Denver.
Coach Fred Hoiberg wasn't ready to rule out Valentine completely for Friday's finale.
"We'll see these next couple days how he responds," Hoiberg said. "He's day to day. He's starting to do a little bit more on the floor. But, no, he's not ready to practice yet."
Hoiberg said rookie Wendell Carter Jr. left Monday's game in the second half due to a stomach issue and should be fine for Wednesday's game.
Defensive drawing board:
Trying to improve the defense currently sits at the top of the Bulls' to-do list.
While giving up 91 points through three quarters Monday at Charlotte, the Bulls often seemed confused about whether or not to switch on screens.
"Obviously, we've let the roller get behind us and the back side hasn't been pulled over to help out in the paint," coach Fred Hoiberg said Tuesday at the Advocate Center. "We've got a big segment where we're going to work on that today as well as work on our other defensive coverages and hopefully get better.
"We're throwing a lot at them right now. Believe it or not, last night I thought we were a little better, especially at times I thought we had some really good possessions."