Bulls’ Zach LaVine is confident that his knee won’t hold him back

It was a simple question lobbed up for Zach LaVine.

Rather than take the obvious dunk, however, the Bulls guard opted to have fun with it.

“I added a lot to my game … short game, you know? I was able to put a lot of good putts out there, my draw is really good right now … ” LaVine joked, when asked where his game currently was off of summer knee surgery and with camp starting.

Golf details aside, LaVine eventually answered what needed to be answered.

“No, I add stuff to my game all the time,” LaVine said. “It’s not about changing your game or going out there and being someone different. I am who I am. I know what I do really well and I’ve done it really well for the last four years.

“[The knee] feels really good.”

Maybe the best news to come out of this summer.

The Sun-Times reported last season that LaVine’s left knee issue was slowing him down more than he and the organization were willing to admit.

The obvious numbers that plummeted once the knee started to hamper him in December were his defensive stats. But the knee also seemingly affected what he was doing on the offensive end.

In the 10 games he played in the second game of a back-to-back, he averaged 22.5 points and shot 44.8% from the field. With one day rest, LaVine averaged 24.3 points per game and shot 48.3% from the field. In the seven games he had two days of rest, it was 27 points per game and 48.5% from the field.

Does that mean the Bulls will look to handle LaVine’s workload differently? That remained to be seen, but according to LaVine, the knee surgery was a minor cleanup and there have been no issues since.

“I’m comfortable with who I am and what I do,” he added.

A good sign

Each time that veteran Goran Dragic has spent his summer playing for his native Slovenian national team, he’s had a good NBA season.

So despite being retired from international ball for almost five years, countryman Luka Doncic talked Dragic into playing again this summer.

That could be good news for the Bulls, who will need the point guard early on as Lonzo Ball recovers from a second left knee surgery.

“I was in doubt a little bit to go or not to go, and I said to myself when I look back at my career I always play well when I play for my national team because I was already ready in game shape and everything, so that’s why I decided to go,” Dragic said.

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