The Numbers: Zach LaVine’s Increased Range

by Bob Bajek

The Chicago Bulls don’t have much going for them the past couple seasons, but at least they can always count on Zach LaVine getting buckets.

LaVine added to his game this past offseason after the front office told him to start taking more threes instead of long twos.

The 6’6” high-flier already could jam and drive his way to points. Honing his three-point shooting upped his scoring average to a career-high 25.5 points per game, good for 12th in the NBA and third for shooting guards—behind James Harden (34.4 ppg) and Bradley Beal (30.5 ppg).

‘Young Hollywood’ averages 3.1 treys on 8.1 tries per game, a 38.0 percent mark. This included nailing 13 out of 17 bombs during a Nov. 23 116-115 win over the Charlotte Hornets:

Thirteen threes tie the great Steph Curry, and only fellow Warriors sniper Klay Thompson collected more (14 in an Oct 30, 2018, beatdown of the Bulls, coincidentally).

LaVine drained a personal best 187 shots from downtown last season, increasing his ability to score at all three levels. No. 8 hit five or more threes in 12 games, including eight twice and a perfect 7-for-7 against the Atlanta Hawks:

Bolstering his three-point shooting propels LaVine to be a more potent offensive threat and will serve the two-time Slam Dunk Contest Champion well when he competes for an All-Star nod next year.

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