SAN FRANCISCO – Zach LaVine wasn’t going to kick young teammates when they were down.
In the aftermath of Bulls coach Billy Donovan opting to shakeup the starting lineup on Friday, moving Ayo Dosunmu and Patrick Williams to the second unit, LaVine made it very clear that the buck still started and finished with himself, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic.
Dosunmu and Williams were simply collateral damage of the failings of that “Big Three’’ so far this season.
“It always does,’’ LaVine said of the blame falling on the three veterans. “Coach has to make his decisions, but as the best players on the team we’ve got to be the ones that make the plays, on bad days take the criticism, good days make sure to help us win, play defense, make the shots.