At least that’s how it felt on many nights when the old Bulls regime was still running in rebuild mud, and it was sink or swim with the No. 8.
No Nikola Vucevic patrolling the middle, no DeMar DeRozan playing hero.
For about 18 minutes on Monday, it felt like old times, as DeRozan was forced out of the game with Boston because of a right quadriceps injury, leaving LaVine to finally get back the reins and try and deliver what would have been the signature win of the season against the Celtics in the Garden.
LaVine scored 15 of his team-high 27 points in that final stanza, and while it was valiant, it still wasn’t enough to overcome the home team, as the Bulls dropped the regular-season finale against Boston 107-99.