Does LaVine have any chance of being an NBA all-star?
Fan voting for the 2020 NBA All-Star Game in Chicago began on Christmas Day.
Meanwhile, Zach LaVine talked about being undecided about the dunk contest and said he's still hoping to be selected to play on Sunday during All-Star Weekend.
So what are LaVine's chances of being an all-star? The teams will be announced in about a month, so things won't change much.
LaVine is a legitimate candidate. He's the sixth-leading scorer in the Eastern Conference right now. But his selection is going to be a close call and will probably depend heavily on injuries to other players.
The best way for LaVine to help his cause is in the win column. The Bulls are 13-20 right now, have a tougher schedule coming in January and need to move closer to .500 for LaVine to have a reasonable chance.
The league did away with East vs. West, but there were still 12 players chosen from each conference. Dwyane Wade and Dirk Nowitzki were added last year as bonus all-stars.
If you do a head count, the roster fills up pretty quickly. The Bucks are dominating the East and will get at least two players for sure, so count Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton as locks.
Kemba Walker and Jayson Tatum from Boston, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons from Philadelphia, Kyle Lowry and Pascal Siakam from Toronto, Miami's Jimmy Butler, Indiana's Domantas Sabonis and Detroit's Andre Drummond figure to be safe bets. Already, we're up to 11.
Kyrie Irving has played in just 11 games with no return in sight from a shoulder injury. He probably shouldn't be an all-star. But if not Irving, Brooklyn has a strong candidate in Spencer Dinwiddie. As well as LaVine has played in December, Dinwiddie actually has him beat. The original Windy City Bull is averaging 27.1 points and 6.4 assists this month, compared to LaVine's 26.1 and 3.7.
And I know, all the Bulls had to do was not cut Dinwiddie in 2016, but that's a different story.
Back to the all-stars, as you can see, LaVine faces tough competition from the players above. And there are plenty of other deserving candidates, such as Boston's Jaylen Brown, Philadelphia's Tobias Harris, Washington's Bradley Beal, Orlando's Nikola Vucevic, Miami's Bam Adebayo, Charlotte's Devonte Graham. Atlanta's Trae Young has the scoring average, but the Hawks have the league's worst record, which is usually an eliminating factor.
So actually, LaVine's chances don't look very good at all. The league surely wants him in the dunk contest, though, so maybe he should keep practicing.
Tougher road ahead:
As mentioned above, the Bulls' schedule is about to get a lot tougher. So far, eight of their 13 wins have come against Atlanta, Detroit and Memphis. There are only three games against Atlanta this season, so the Bulls don't figure to see the Hawks again until the draft lottery.
The Bulls just wrapped up a stretch where 14 of 19 opponents were below .500, and went 9-10. In the next 12 games, the Bulls will see Milwaukee twice, Boston twice and get Dallas and Philadelphia on the road.
There are no real quality victories, since they beat the Clippers without Kawhi Leonard, Lou Williams or Patrick Beverley. The Bulls will get some chances this week, with the Bucks, Jazz and Celtics visiting the United Center.
"We played with some of the best teams in the league. We know we can compete and fight with them," Zach LaVine said. "We just have to learn how to close out games. It's going to be a challenge, but I think we're up for it."
Carter from deep:
Bulls center Wendell Carter Jr. made multiple 3-point baskets on Saturday against Atlanta for the second time in his NBA career. He went 2-for-3 against the Hawks, something he hadn't done since the eighth game of his rookie season against Denver.
"With time and space, let it fly," coach Jim Boylen said. "We've been talking about that for a couple weeks. When he's faced up, he has his feet down on the catch-and-shoot, I'd like him to take those open shots. I did not like the one where he dribbled out to the line (and shot it)."
• Twitter: @McGrawDHBulls
Bulls game day
Bulls vs. Milwaukee Bucks, Monday 7 p.m. at the United Center
TV: NBCSCH; Radio: WSCR 670-AM
Outlook: Giannis Antetokounmpo missed the past two games with a back injury and is considered day-to-day. The Bucks (29-5) have also played without PG Eric Bledsoe for the past eight games with a leg fracture, but he might return for this one. So far nothing has slowed down Milwaukee. The Bucks beat Atlanta and Orlando without their reigning MVP and have won 23 of their last 25 overall. ... The Bulls have lost eight in a row to Milwaukee, including twice already this season. Antetokounmpo has averaged 35.5 points and 13.0 rebounds against the Bulls. SG Khris Middleton (18.7 ppg) missed the earlier games with an injury, while C Brook Lopez averaged 16.0 points against the Bulls. ... For the Bulls, PF Lauri Markkanen sat out Sunday's practice with an illness after feeling well enough to play Saturday against Atlanta.
Next: Utah Jazz on Thursday 7 p.m. at the United Center
- Mike McGraw