The Bulls are Zach LaVine’s team for the time being — and he welcomes it

Bulls guard Zach LaVine doesn’t need to look at the numbers to know the obvious.

With big man Lauri Markkanen (right elbow) in street clothes for two to four more weeks and guard Kris Dunn (left knee) and big man Bobby Portis (right knee) possibly out until late December, there’s no question whose team this is these days.

Sure, forward Jabari Parker sneaks in a few good moments every now and then, but it’s LaVine’s show — in more ways than one.

Forget his 29.3 points per game, which put him fifth in the NBA entering play Sunday, and take a look at his usage rate, a measure of the percentage of a team’s plays a player is involved in offensively.

Only the Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo (36.6 percent), the Hornets’ Kemba Walker (35.1 percent) and the Suns’ Devin Booker (34.6 percent) ranked ahead of LaVine (34.4 percent) in that category entering play Sunday.

The Bulls’ 97-85 victory Saturday against the Hawks offered a good example of that. LaVine basically took over point-guard duties from Cameron Payne and was the primary facilitator for the offense in the fourth quarter.

‘‘He was close to a triple-double,’’ coach Fred Hoiberg said sarcastically, referring to LaVine’s 27 points, 11 rebounds and nine turnovers.

What it showed, though, was just how much of the load LaVine is being asked to carry.

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‘‘Right now, I’m going to have to carry that weight,’’ LaVine said. ‘‘I’m fine with the ball in my hands. Sometimes it’s good to get off the ball and play catch-and-shoot or just shooting guard, but I do like having the ball in my hands. I feel like I can create and get to the hoop. I feel like I have to make the right passes; I can’t squeeze them in there all the time.

‘‘But, you know, I played point guard growing up. I played point guard my first two years in the NBA. That’s helped me get to the place now where I can make the right reads and play both guard positions.’’

Opposing teams have taken notice of that. On Friday, the Hornets showed LaVine a few double-teams and blitzed him on pick-and-rolls. On Saturday, the Hawks threw more double-teams at LaVine than he has seen at this level.

The philosophy is simple: Don’t let LaVine beat us and put pressure on everyone else to score.

‘‘Zach is a guy [who], if we can draw two [opponents] to the ball and make the play and spray out of it, we’re going to get open looks,’’ Hoiberg said of the double-teaming. ‘‘The way he’s scoring the ball right now, he’s probably going to see some double-teams. We’ve just got to make sure we’re in the right spots.’’

And LaVine has to make sure he finds his teammates — unless he decides not to.

‘‘I trust my teammates,’’ LaVine said. ‘‘I’ve got to get out of the double-team sometimes, but sometimes I want to attack it, as well. I know I can beat it. Regardless, I feel like I’m off to a good start. Getting used to [the double-teams] going forward.’’