Chicago Bulls: 3 observations from recent 7-game losing streak

1. Zach LaVine finding his groove

One of the biggest questions coming into the season had to do with how Zach LaVine would fare on the court after being sidelined for a year as he worked his way back from a torn ACL injury. As one would expect, the results have been a mixed bag so far.

In his first two games back, the fourth-year guard scored 14 and 18 points, respectively, while shooting 57 percent from the field. He followed that up with a trio of games in which he converted just 11 of his 36 attempts (30.6 percent), including a 2-for-12 effort from beyond the arc.

Then, following a solid 21-point outing against the Philadelphia 76ers on Jan. 24, LaVine shot an abysmal 5-for-28 combined against the Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks. In other words, his production has been all over the map.

The good news is LaVine has played well over the team’s last three outings, eclipsing the 20-point plateau in each of those games. This is impressive considering he had done so just once in his first eight appearances.

Although LaVine is shooting 39.6 percent for the season, his numbers over the last three outings have improved dramatically. He is shooting 46.9 percent overall and a blistering 77.8 percent from long range.

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That being said, when the Bulls have their core back intact, they will be much more competitive than what they’ve shown during what has been another painful losing streak.