NEWSLETTER
HEYYOOO.
In the first start of Coby White’s NBA career, the Bulls walked off the United Center court with a 108-103 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. And while a win over the Cavs isn’t really anything to write home over, the fact that this team looked like a solid unit with White at the helm certainly is. Indeed, the energy in the first unit was different tonight, as White offered the starting lineup a much-needed scoring boost; the rookie finished the game with 20 points (FG 7-17), 5 rebounds, and 5 assists (although, in a rather uncharacteristic turn of events, he struggled to keep the ball safe, turning it over 9 times). You take the good with the bad for now, I guess.
And still, the all-around performance from the starting lineup tonight – with White in the middle of it all – remains encouraging.
BULLS WIN COBY WHITE’S FIRST START
Coby: 20pts (FG 7-17), 5ast, 5reb
Lauri: 15pts, 4reb
Wendell: 17pts, 6reb
Denzel: 15pts, 1 reb, 2ast
Otto: 14pts, 4reb, 2ast— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) March 11, 2020
Sure, Lauri Markkanen shot far too many 3-pointers (again), but at least he looked more aggressive overall. Meanwhile, Wendell Carter Jr. easily had his best game since returning from injury.
And ultimately, the more the trio of White, Markkanen, and Carter Jr. can put together these sort of double-digit scoring performances, the more certain we’ll be that White’s the right guy for the job. This will all surely be tested when Zach LaVine is added back into the mix, but until then, it’s White’s job to steer this ship in the right direction and continue developing into the sort of player this team can rely upon next year (and hopefully many years to come).
As I said this morning, we must avoid looking too much into this one game (if it had gone poorly, I would encourage you to pump the breaks just the same), but I’m still glad White got his start, and that there were plenty of positive takeaways.
Coby White on his first NBA start and what it was like to hear “from North Carolina” during the starting lineup intros #Bulls @WGNNews pic.twitter.com/e2iMNG8Bfc
— Josh Frydman (@Josh_Frydman) March 11, 2020
Anyway, here are some great Coby highlights to end your night!
Coby White is a HOOPER.
20 points | 5 rebs | 5 assists pic.twitter.com/kKn7ktQa08
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) March 11, 2020
