Chicago Bulls: 3 reasons Coby White’s play is concerning this season
1) Why the play of Chicago Bulls PG Coby White is concerning
Similar cracks in his game to the outset of last season
Above all else, one of the most concerning parts of White’s stat line so far this season is the comparison you can draw to how he played at the outset of his rookie campaign. Any time a volume scorer has to take ample time to shake off rust from the offseason, it could be a bad sign of things to come in the coming years of their career.
Last season, White averaged 13.2 points per game, 3.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.1 blocks, and 1.7 turnovers, while playing in all 65 games (starting in just one of them) for the Bulls. And he shot 39.4 percent from the field, 35.4 percent from beyond the arc, and 79.1 percent from the free-throw line.
That’s not all that different from what White has done through six games this season. So far this season, he’s averaged 14.5 points per game, 4.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 0.3 steals, 0.2 blocks, and 3.2 turnovers. White shot 34.9 percent from the field, 35.7 percent from beyond the arc, and 82.4 percent from the free-throw line.
The all-encompassing advanced metrics aren’t all that different this season for White compared to his rookie campaign either.
Next. 3 Bulls players off to the worst start through 6 games. dark
There’s a consistent theme here that White needs to improve his overall production and efficiency on both ends of the floor to stay as a consistent piece in this starting five. But he did improve rapidly as his rookie season moved along last year. And the same could be said after a very long offseason in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in White’s case early in this regular season slate.