There will be some people bothered by the fact Zach LaVine will participate in All-Star weekend on Saturday and Sunday after the Chicago Bulls' guard missed the final three games before the break with left knee soreness.
When LaVine tries to make history Saturday night by becoming the first All-Star to win both the slam dunk and 3-point shootout over the course of their career, some fans will wonder why those 3-point attempts didn't come as the Bulls went 3-0 without him?
When LaVine plays his likely limited minutes on Sunday in what is essentially an exhibition — until, at least, the Elam ending ups the stakes — some detractors will undoubtedly be bothered by the optics.
To which the dominant reaction from this perspective is: Relax.
If anybody has earned the right to take an All-Star victory lap, it's LaVine.
He's the one, after all, who gamely served the face of the franchise role as the Bulls limped through a rebuild. He's the one who worked on his game to improve in all areas and welcomed other primary scoring options in Nikola Vučević and DeMar DeRozan with open arms. He's the one who went to have his left knee examined by a specialist mostly because he recognizes how special this team and this season's opportunity is.
"He wants to be right for the playoffs," a LaVine confidante said.
LaVine is on track to return to action when the Bulls resume their final playoff push following the break. His specialist, working in concert with the Bulls' medical staff, cleared him for physical activity beginning Thursday.
Does everybody know what LaVine would be doing Saturday night if he weren't participating in the 3-point shootout at All-Star weekend? Taking 3-point shots in some gym, somewhere.
This is a player dedicated to his craft who puts in work. Let him enjoy how far he and the Bulls' franchise have come in just two short years.
You remember 2020, right? That's when the Bulls and the United Center played host to All-Star weekend. And the chasm between where the Bulls have been and where they were at the time couldn't have been larger.
As the league celebrated the significance of Chicago basketball, the Bulls barely registered on the map of relevance. LaVine participated in that 3-point shootout as well, but it felt like a consolation prize.
Now, LaVine is in Cleveland with running buddy DeRozan and rookie Ayo Dosunmu, who participated in Friday's Rising Stars Challenge. The franchise is on the rise, relevant again.
LaVine interrupted DeRozan's postgame press conference following the Bulls' fifth straight victory on Wednesday to serenade him as "MVP" and tell him he'd see DeRozan in Cleveland. The good vibes are bountiful.
Obviously, the need for good health is a major storyline for the Bulls' stretch run. They've been decimated by injuries. And there's no guarantee that the lubrication that LaVine's specialist injected into his knee will hold to limit the stiffness and swelling that comes and goes.
But it's not like Sunday's minutes will be taxing ones. And, again, LaVine would be working out on his own if he weren't at All-Star weekend.
LaVine hates missing games. His standard line is he missed enough time following his February 2017 left ACL tear.
Coincidentally, LaVine received the expected news that he earned his second straight trip to the All-Star Game as a reserve on the five-year anniversary of that injury. LaVine has persevered through plenty to reach the lofty status he now inhabits leaguewide.
He should be allowed his opportunity to rub elbow's with the game's elite without judgement.
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Why LaVine has earned right for All-Star victory lap - NBC Sports Chicago
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