3) Why the play of Chicago Bulls PG Coby White is concerning
Inability to facilitate the offense
The biggest move that the Bulls made in their rotation concerning White from last season to this year is transitioning him to more of the sole starting point guard over Tomas Satoransky. In all but one game last season, Sato was the starting point guard for the Bulls. White finally got the start at the one in the Bulls de facto regular season finale in a home win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
White isn’t doing great in his starting point guard duties so far this season. He ranks third on the team in assists per 36 minutes (behind Sato and big man Cristiano Felicio). And his assist percentage is also third on the team (around 25.0), behind the same players. He is averaging 5.7 assists per game, compared to 3.2 turnovers.
The good news in this regard for White is that he improved pretty fast in the assist-to-turnover ratio in the last few games. But large spurts of turnovers combined with White being known more as a microwave scorer instead of a true floor general could be problematic moving forward.
The key for White will be keeping his assist-to-turnover ratio numbers headed in the right direction, and eliminate unnecessary mistakes especially in transition. He is at least improving in this regard of late, and shaking off the rust will take time.
However, Sato still looks a lot more natural facilitating this offense and leading as the floor general on both ends of the floor compared to White. That’s something that needs to progress for White, and fast, as we move deeper into the regular season slate.