PHILADELPHIA – Billy Donovan doesn’t do ambiguity very well.
So when asked on Monday if Zach LaVine’s left knee can get healthier this season or was this just who the All-Star guard will be until the Bulls are done playing out the 2021-22 campaign, the coach didn’t hesitate.
“This is him,” Donovan said. “The doctors feel that the most important thing is his health and everybody feeling comfortable with him. Obviously the group of people that were involved, they’re the best in the world, so everybody is very comfortable. The lubricant, the things that he had placed into his knee, was something to try and give him some relief from what he was experiencing.
“The biggest thing, and what people need to understand about this too, is he is not dealing with pain. That’s not the issue. The issue is sometimes he gets some swelling, some stiffness and tightness in there, and he doesn’t feel like he has all the way his mobility, flexibility, explosiveness, that kind of stuff. [Monday] he feels much, much better than he did before he did this. Now the biggest question is going to be can he feel this way until the end of the year?”
And that’s the daily question for LaVine?
Is he the guy that can wink at the laws of gravity as he blows by an opposing defender to the rim or is he the guy that doesn’t trust the way the knee feels that day and is a spot-up shooter?
Because there’s a big difference.
Enough so that Donovan had a discussion with LaVine about it yet again recently. According to Donovan, LaVine’s numbers in attacking the paint have gone steadily down, and they need that to change.
“Zach is a really, really interesting guy because I think when people look at him or see him, and see his overall natural ability and talent, first at the core of who he is, he’s a really good team guy,” Donovan said. “So I think one of the things that’s happened in my opinion is him being out as much as he’s been out … He’s trying to figure out how does he now inject himself back into the group, where’s he kind of fitting in?
He’s got to get downhill and we’ve got to get to the free throw line more, put more pressure on that basket. That’s really important for us.
“We just need him to be who he is.”
Or at least who he is that day.
Three men out
Alex Caruso, Patrick Williams and Lonzo Ball were all with their teammates in Philadelphia, but according to Donovan, they won’t finish out the trip.
Because Tuesday is a practice day in Detroit, followed by Wednesday’s game with the Pistons and then a possible off-day, the medical staff felt it would be better to get the three home and continue their individual rehab the next three days.
Caruso and Williams have been dealing with wrist injuries, and the hope is they would be getting scanned sooner than later to figure out when they can start taking contact in practice, while Ball (knee surgery) continued his running rehab as he tries to figure out a return timetable.
“The medical people feel that could be a good three or four days for them inside the facility,” Donovan said. “We’re trying to balance them being with the team, interacting with those guys, and keeping that personal connection, but also giving them the opportunity that they can ramp up and get back by doing the things they have to do, and probably the best place for them to do that is in Chicago.”
