NEWSLETTER
The obligatory caveat regarding “it’s just Summer League” goes here, but I’m starting to think we’re going to like watching Coby White play ball.
Two games into his foray into the NBA Summer League, White — the player tabbed by the Chicago Bulls with the No. 7 pick in the NBA Draft — has averaged 16.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.0 assists. He’s mixed high energy with highlight-reel plays that make it easy to dream on him leading the Bulls moving forward. But again, we’re talking about two games in the Vegas Summer League. There is no reason to jump over the moon just yet. Right? Right!
Now that we have established that, this seems like a good time to establish the not-so-fun stuff surrounding the Bulls’ 2019 first-round pick.
Coby White has been dreadful shooting the basketball. Again, it’s just two games. And yes, it’s just the Summer League, but still: White is shooting 38% from the field, which is about as stone cold as it gets. Put it this way, that shooting percentage would’ve been worse than Kyle Lowry last season, whose 41.1 FG% was THE WORST among NBA point guards all year.
But what might be even more concerning is that White is 0-for-11 from the 3-point line. That comes out to … 0 percent (if my calculations are correct).
Technically speaking, White hasn’t made a 3-point shot in 106 days. His last make came in the second round of the NCAA Tournament when North Carolina downed Washington to get into the Sweet 16. A lengthy cold-spell is bothersome, especially since 3-point shooting was supposed to be a strength for White as he made the leap from college to the pros.
Have I mentioned that we’re talking about just two games in the Summer League? I just wanted to be sure that I’m being clear about what’s happening.
Let’s keep in mind that White has just two games of professional-ish buckets under his belt. The rookie point guard has a lot on his plate now and will continue to add on as he continues to pick up minutes this summer and into the fall. I wouldn’t go jumping off the bandwagon just yet.
Against high-end ACC talent, White showed an ability to get off his own shot anywhere and everywhere on the floor. Remember, he was a solid 3-point shooter who connected on 35.3 percent of his attempts as a freshman at North Carolina. Further, the general consensus was that his range extended out to the pro line, so this wasn’t supposed to be something that popped up as problematic. To this point, White hasn’t found the stroke just yet, but it’s still early … right?
