Minnesota Timberwolves

NBA Rumors: Zach LaVine Out For The Season With Torn ACL

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 3:40 p.m. ET

Fansided, Tyree Morton/FanSided via Sir Charles In Charge

NBA Rumors: On February 3, Zach Lavine suffered a torn ACL against the Detroit Pistons and he will miss the remainder of the season

During a drive to the basket, Zach Lavine went up for a layup, got the and one and came down awkwardly after.

It was clear that he was hurt. Unusually, he continued to play six more minutes.

However, Saturday evening it was announced that the up-and-coming Minnesota Timberwolves star had suffered a torn ACL in his left knee.

We all know how tough these injuries can be. Some players who suffer this type of injury wind up never reaching their full potential and/or become shells of themselves. Hopefully, this won’t be the case for Zach LaVine.

In just his third season and best season yet, Zach LaVine was averaging 18.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists. Through his first 34 games, LaVine averaged 21.1 points, three rebounds, three assists and shot 47.6 percent from the field and 85.6 percent from the foul line.

The three-ball was there for him as well, shooting it at a 41.7 percent clip.

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On January 6, LaVine posted just eight points on 3-14 shooting. This is when he entered a slump that would last until the injury.

During this slump he averaged 13.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists. LaVine also struggled percentage wise, shooting 40.1 percent from the field, 28.6 percent from three and 75.9 percent from the free throw line.

Besides rebounding, all of LaVine’s numbers in those categories are lower than what he averaged in his first 34 games. LaVine’s rebounding increased during his shooting slump as he had to find more ways to be effective. Out of all the listed categories that he’s struggled in, his assists per game is the only thing that didn’t drop off significantly.

Through January 11-13, Zach LaVine missed two games due to a left hip contusion. This might still be bothering him and who knows if he was dealing with any other injuries that we don’t know about. LaVine may have been worn out. After all, he is top three in the league for minutes played at 37.2. Perhaps his playing time took a toll on his body. Ultimately, this could have been the cause for such a slump and his torn ACL.

This is just a minor setback for the up-and-coming star. Turning only 22 in March, Zach LaVine has one of the brightest futures in this league. You can only hope that he recovers and comes back stronger than before.