Motivation

On Friday, Bulls’ coach Billy Donovan pulled star guard Zach LaVine with 3:43 left in the fourth quarter against the visiting Magic. Why? LaVine shooting 1-for-14 on the night may have had something to do with it. The Bulls being the Bulls, they went on to lose 108-107 on a three-pointer by Jalen Suggs with 4.1 seconds left. Too bad Donovan didn’t sit center Nikola Vucevic while he was at it. That way, Vucevic wouldn’t have been around to miss two free throws ahead of Suggs’ game-winning shot. Vucevic does what he’s supposed to, his team wins and maybe LaVine wouldn’t be so upset. After the game, he made it clear to reporters he wanted to be out there. Last night, against the Eastern-Conference leading Celtics, who were on a nine-game winning streak, he was. LaVine scored twenty-two points with five rebounds and five assists in a Bulls’ 121-107 victory. Advantage…? You tell me. Donovan wants his best players to produce. Game in and game out, he can depend on forward DeMar DdRozan, Vucevic and LaVine not so much. How better to motivate a player than by sending a message? By my count, a certain center needs one, too.