MIAMI — The film didn’t lie.
Neither did Zach LaVine on Wednesday.
The Bulls’ All-Star guard has had moments of tentativeness, especially on the defensive end the last few games, and that just might be his reality the rest of the season, admittedly still dealing with a left knee that isn’t 100% and won’t be until the offseason.
An offseason, by the way, where surgery — even if it’s an exploratory scope — is on the table.
“I might not be 100% but me at 80%, 70% whatever it is [I’m] still one of the best players in the NBA, damn sure one of the best players on the court when we play,” LaVine said after the team’s practice at the FTX Arena.
When asked if surgery was in his immediate future he replied, “I don’t know. That’s going to be a discussion for me and my doctor to figure out a plan of action to make me feel that I can get back to 100%.”
While LaVine did say that stability is not the issue, he did say that there are still some pain issues and problems with range of motion.
Not all the time, but it’s there.
“I mean my knee isn’t 100%,” LaVine said. “That’s just the reality of it. You can go look at it from my game with Golden State on. I’m not going to be 100% the same way. Now can I still go out here and contribute? I can still do that, but it’s just something I’ve got to fight through until the end of the season. I’m not going to be a person that shuts it down. We’re having a great year, I’m having a good year, so I’m going to go out there and help my team anyway I can.
“If it didn’t feel sturdy or structurally right I wouldn’t be playing. I don’t want to say ‘I’m not dumb,’ but you know, I’m not going to go out there and risk really [bleeping] something up. It’s a little restrictive motion, some pain here and there, but everybody has to deal with that. I’m OK dealing with that and still going out and playing.”
As far as how the Bulls are going to handle LaVine and his workload the rest of the way out? That’s not going to change.
He’s working with trainers “overtime,” and staying in constant communication with coach Billy Donovan, his medical people in Los Angeles, and the Bulls’ medical staff. Getting the fluid drained from the knee last month in LA and having a lubricant put in the knee was only a band-aid to get him to the offseason.
“I’ll deal with it later,” LaVine said. “We don’t know what that is going to be and how exactly we’re going to approach it. But it is pretty much like a band-aid. It’s making me feel better for the time being and getting me to a place where I feel comfortable playing and being effective on the court over this last stretch. And then the offseason, I’ll deal with whatever I have to.”
What LaVine did reiterate was that his decision to continue this year was because of the coaching staff and his teammates, and all the good they have going in this playoff push. The idea of it being because he’s also a free agent this summer is secondary.
That was reported in multiple stories when he went to Los Angeles to see his specialist.
“I don’t know how people can take that but that’s their opinion,” LaVine said of those that didn’t understand his priorities. “I really don’t care. It’s not going to affect me or the way I conduct myself for my teammates or my team. There’s nothing else about it that goes into it for me or you would’ve seen a whole different outcome.”
