The Good, The Bad, The Coby
Coby White is showing growth in his all-around game and the Nikola Vucevic-White Duo Is Looking Better, But The Bulls Record Is Not.
Coby White has had obvious troubles adjusting to the role of true point guard. Jim Boylen made a half-hearted attempt to get White ready for lead ballhandler duties, but mostly empowered him in the familiar, and relatively successful-for-his-archetype off the bench scorer role.
In Year 2 of the Coby White Experience, Billy Donovan has committed quite hard and clearly to helping White transform into a player who routinely makes plays for others, and with solid results so far.
White’s numbers mostly look the same as his rookie year but his jump in assists stands out. Just take a peak at the increase in assists per 100 possessions below:
But in the Bulls 106–101 loss to the Miami Heat on Saturday, it was a tale of two Coby’s. Here are his 1st/2nd half splits vs. Miami:
1ST HALF: 10 points (4–7), 2 assists, 4 turnovers
2ND HALF: 21 points (7–11), 3 assists, 2 turnovers
Credit goes to Billy Donovan, Maurice Cheeks, and Co. for whatever they said to White at halftime because it definitely made a difference.
Coming out of the half, it was clear that White was making a conscious effort to attack the basket. He also made fewer mistakes, only committing two 2nd half turnovers after turning the ball over four times in the 1st half.
Below is White’s shot chart for just the 2nd half against Miami.
A big part of the reason I — and some other analysts— weren’t super high on Coby White coming out of North Carolina was the fact that he has a very underwhelming wingspan. This lack of length limits White’s ability to finish at the rim, especially for someone who is listed at 6-foot-5.
Per Cleaning The Glass, White is converting on 54% of his shots at the rim. This is actually a 5% increase in efficiency at the rim compared to his rookie season, but still a poor mark nonetheless. But Saturday’s 2nd half comeback effort featured some of the best finishing flashes we’ve seen from him this season.
White recognized mismatches in the 2nd half and — though he still struggled getting the ball to Vucevic without getting another player involved in the action — attacked bigs off the dribble. This allowed White to utilize his speed to dominate bigs on switch actions rather than letting his lack of length be a detriment.
Coby made sure to fill the lanes correctly on the fastbreak and we even have a clip of White turning down a wide-open 3-pointer (!!) to attack Kendrick Nunn off the bounce. Take a look at how aggressive White is going to the basket in the video below:
If White’s trend of attacking the basket continues, the Bulls will be much better for it. Coby is still a player who is highly reliant on jump shots to be successful, with his trips to the free throw line being few and far between [Editor’s Note: White is averaging 2.1 FTA per game, up 0.1 from last season].
Billy Donovan and his staff have their work cut out for them. They are being patient with White, as evidenced back the fact that his turnover rate has actually increased this season and he’s still been trusted in many key situations.
I — like Donovan — have the utmost faith in Coby White’s ability to become an above-average playmaker, but I just don’t know how many years that will take vs. what the Bulls timeline for contention is now. But White is clearly showing some small signs of growth in these games sans Zach LaVine.
And remember the mention of the Vucevic-White pairing’s recent success? Since LaVine went down, the White-Vucevic duo is the Bulls most played and most successful 2-Man Lineup per NBA Advanced Stats (+4.0 Net Rating).
The closer White gets to becoming an all-around point guard, the closer the Bulls will get to being a real playoff contender, rather than whatever they are now. And while the process of becoming a high-level true point guard in the NBA is an ardous and long one, games like Saturday’s show that Coby White will provide us with plenty of fireworks along the way.
