The league released the first installment of the NBA’s All-Star game voting poll today, and although it is 100% fan-voted thus far, it’s looking bleak for the Chicago Bulls. It was assumed as the 10th seed in the Eastern Conference, with Zach Lavine and Nikola Vucevic playing at an all-star level only sparingly that DeMar DeRozan would be the only one representing Chicago. While he is slated to be on the team, he’ll be sitting at the end of the bench if things were to finish at the current standings, a step down from last season’s all-star starter status and a harsh placement for one of the game’s best players right now.
DeRozan Robbed Of Starting Spot
Not the update that Bulls’ fans were hoping for, DeMar DeRozan is currently sixth in the Eastern Conference for guard voting with just over half a million votes. He directly trails Trae Young by 200,000 and is also behind Jaylen Brown, James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, and Kyrie Irving for the top spot among guards in the East. Assuming they select six players from the front and backcourt for the 12-man roster, DeRozan would get one of the final two spots and barely sneak in for his sixth all-star appearance.
Standing at 13th in the NBA in scoring and top-five amongst those scorers in field goal percentage, DeRozan deserves better than the last bench spot on the all-star team. He also ranks first in clutch time points and field goal percentage in the entire league and has arguably kept the Bulls from complete disaster nearly single-handedly. Playing the best basketball of his career, DeRozan sits only behind Mitchell and Young in scoring amongst the players above and has played in more games than both of them, having yet to miss any of the 38 games the Bulls have played. Not to mention he’s scoring more points and averaging more assists than the number one-voted guard Kyrie Irving.
Where’s The 215 Million Dollar Man?
To no surprise, Zach Lavine did not crack the top ten for all-star voting in the first returned ballot. Coming off of back-to-back all-star seasons and signing a max contract this past offseason would have suggested he’d be there without question, but quite the opposite has happened. Averaging nearly his worst figures since arriving in Chicago, Lavine has been the subject of more scrutiny than praise, and for good reason. Being paid amongst the top 20 in the NBA, expectations have been cemented onto the former UCLA guard that he’s failed to reach so far in the 2022-23′ campaign.
Lavine becomes eligible for trade ten days from now, and playing nowhere near an all-star level may show his way to the door. Teams like the Lakers, Mavericks, and Knicks have been reportedly interested in the 27-year-old guard who could propel a bubble team into serious contention. News has spiraled that Lavine is not ‘seeing eye-to-eye’ with the organization and ‘has questioned his role’ at times, and it might be time for a change of scenery. Veteran guard Goran Dragic also referred to Lavine, saying, “we don’t play for each other, simple as that,” after referencing an example of a selfish play he’d had during the game.
Popularity Contest
With the first poll being purely fan voting, this is just a popularity contest among the players. It shows just how bad Nikola Vucevic has been since putting on a Bulls’ uniform that he’s not even a topic of discussion around all-star weekend anymore, let alone a surprise that he’s not on there. Having made two all-star appearances before his Chicago days, Vucevic has been sorely underwhelming and a significant factor in why the Bulls haven’t enjoyed the success they’ve hoped for since overhauling the front office and roster in 2020-21′.
A successful all-star weekend would feature DeMar DeRozan in the starting lineup, but it will take some impressive performances over the coming weeks to bolster his vote count. After beating the Nets last night, the Bulls move to 6-1 against the top-three seeds in the East but are 0-6 against sub-.500 teams on the year. They’ll need to find consistency and build a streak into the playoff picture if Lavine has any chance of scratching the top ten in voting by the finale, but maybe it’s a better wake-up call if he’s not recognized at all.
