Chicago Bulls: 3 new teammates that Nikola Vucevic will elevate

Who Nikola Vucevic will help No. 3: Coby White

The play of the second-year former North Carolina Tar Heels point guard and the 21-year-old Coby White for the last month or so didn’t inspire much confidence in his game from the Bulls fan base. The Bulls’ seventh overall pick in the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft had high expectations coming into his sophomore campaign in the league.

White caught fire down the stretch during his rookie campaign, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic-induced pause, but he didn’t carry that momentum into the start of this regular season. He’s posted similar numbers in terms of his advanced metrics and counting stats this season that he did during his rookie campaign as a whole.

A lot of the problems White has faced this season so far have to do with inconsistencies in his shooting percentages and turnovers, and troubles with matching up one-on-one with opposing guards. White has become one of the worst defenders among Bulls guards this season, posting a -3.5 defensive box plus/minus rating, 115 defensive rating, and steal/block percentages both well below 1.0.

While the defensive problems White has faced so far this season won’t really be improved by the addition of Vucevic, he’ll have a lot more space to operate on offense. So far this season, White has shot just 40.9 percent from the field and 35.0 percent from beyond the arc. He’ll have a lot more room to operate with Vucevic in the mix for the rest of the 2020-21 campaign.