Chicago Bulls: 5 players that solidified a roster spot next season

4. Coby White, Point Guard

While this might be the most obvious name on the list, the former North Carolina Tar Heels rookie point guard Coby White definitely proved his worth with the Bulls in the last few games before the hiatus. White was one of the hottest rookies in the entire NBA before the season was placed on hiatus.

He was just named the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for the first time for any Bulls player this season, in February. White saw his scoring touch absolutely catch fire in the month of February and in a few games in March. He averaged well over 20 points per game and around five assists in the back half of February and throughout the beginning of March.

In 65 games played this season, White averaged 13.2 points per game, 3.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 0.8 steals, while shooting 39.4 percent from the field, 35.4 percent from beyond the arc, and 79.1 percent from the charity stripe. But most of his advanced numbers are still rather lacking, and he has yet to come up with one complete win share thus far.

Granted the fact that White doesn’t have one win share yet shows how flawed that stat can be situationally. There were at least three or four wins that the Bulls nabbed directly thanks to the volume scoring efforts of White off the bench.

The true shooting percentage of 50.6, -2.8 box plus/minus rating, .028 win shares per 48 minutes, and -0.3 value over replacement player rating, each leave a lot to be desired. A 100 offensive rating and 112 defensive rating also don’t inspire much confidence in the advanced stats from White during his rookie season.

Nonetheless, the pace and rhythm that White found near the hiatus was something awe inspiring. Maybe he can keep that going on into whatever happens next for the Bulls and the NBA.