Minnesota Timberwolves: Zach LaVine’s preseason struggles
A little less than two weeks ago, Minnesota Timberwolves interim head coach Sam Mitchell named Zach LaVine the team’s starting shooting guard over experienced veteran Kevin Martin. Some criticized Mitchell for the move, while others praised him. To me, it seemed as if it was about 50-50 as to whether people praised or criticized the move.
Through five preseason games, it’s tough to argue with those who criticized Mitchell’s decision to start LaVine. Saying LaVine has struggled would be putting it very nicely.
Here is LaVine’s shot chart through five preseason games:
My short, quick analysis of LaVine’s shot chart is probably the same as yours — it’s bad. Overall, LaVine has made just 23.3% of field goals and 18.2% of three-point shots. But for me, that’s not even the worst part about his shooting thus far.
LaVine’s shot selection has always been questionable, going back to his days at UCLA. As a rookie, he quickly fell in love with the one-dribble pull-up jumper from long two-point range (he was aided by Flip Saunders’ offensive system, but that’s another story). So far this preseason, as you can see from the shot chart, LaVine has resorted back to attempting a high volume of those long two’s.
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Additionally, LaVine possesses freakish athleticism that needs to be utilized more than it is right now. In other words, LaVine needs to attack the basket more often and more aggressively instead of settling for long two’s. As the shot chart indicates, LaVine has struggled finishing at the rim so far as a sophomore. However, he converted a modest 55.6% of attempts at the rim as a rookie (including 65.2% in the month of April), so it’s not like he doesn’t have that ability.
Another point I’d like to make regarding LaVine’s shot selection is how many of his shots come early in the shot clock. Too often already this season, LaVine has pulled up for that long two or even a contested three early in the shot clock. Here’s one example in the video below. He pulls up for a long, contested two-point jumper with 18 seconds on the shot clock.
With that being said, LaVine is one of those players who likes to score and likes to let it fly. I don’t want LaVine to become a completely different player, but I’d like to see him find some sort of happy medium in that aspect. He has said many times that he likes to score the basketball, and I think the best way for him to do that is to use his athleticism to attack the rim, and let that open things up for his jump shot.
Am I overanalyzing this? Maybe. Could it be just a slump? Maybe. In fact, it probably is just a slump. However, nobody can argue that his shot selection has been poor and that it’s contributed to his rough start.
Whether Sam Mitchell sticks with LaVine as his starting shooting guard to begin the regular season is yet to be seen. One thing we do know, though, is that LaVine will need to show some improvement, especially in the shot selection department, before he truly earns the title of NBA starter.