Chicago Bulls: Coby White not getting to the free-throw line enough

A noted problem for the Chicago Bulls all throughout this season so far involved getting to the free-throw line. Despite boasting numerous talented scoring guards and good length in their backcourt rotation, the Bulls are among the worst teams in the NBA in terms of getting to the charity stripe each game.

While the Bulls do a good job in terms of converting on their attempts at the line, getting to the charity stripe rarely happens compared to other teams around the league. First-year head coach Billy Donovan has his team ranked dead last in the NBA in total free-throw attempts this season, as they’re down more than 13 percent from last year.

When the Bulls do get to the charity stripe, though, they’re pretty efficient. The Bulls rank in the top 10 in the NBA in free-throw percentage, just shy of 80. So far this season, the Bulls average around 18 free throws per game, which is roughly five less than they give up.

The Bulls are giving away points at the line, and this should be a fixable problem.

Some of the more adept scoring guards for the Bulls should be getting to the line more often. One good example is second-year point guard Coby White, who is among the worst on the team in free-throw attempt rate.

Chicago Bulls and Coby White’s free-throw shooting woes

White’s league-adjusted free-throw attempt rate sits at 67, which is one of the worst on the team. And given his usage rate (22.7 percent) that ranks third on the team, he’s got to get to the charity stripe more often than he is now.

One of the biggest reasons why it is key for White to get to the free-throw line in the first place is how efficient he shoots the ball once he’s there. White is one of the better free-throw shooters in recent memory for the Bulls. He’s hitting his looks from the charity stripe this season at a clip above 90 percent.

White leads the team by a good margin (among the Bulls players that have at least 20 free-throw attempts on the season), as he’s shooting more than four percent better from the line than star center Nikola Vucevic. The Bulls can get a lot more efficient offensive production out of White if he can find a way to get to the line more often.

In fact, White ranks seventh in the NBA this season in free-throw shooting percentage, specifically at 90.6.

Given that star shooting guard Zach LaVine and Vooch have gotten to the free-throw line more often down the stretch this season, it is largely up to White to be able to score more efficiently. LaVine and Vooch are clearly the Bulls’ top duo, but White could be one of their other main sources of offense moving forward.

White currently sits with a free-throw attempt rate of .165 on the season. LaVine has a free-throw attempt rate over .230 on the season. And while Vooch has a sub .110 free-throw attempt rate, he’s trending in the right direction in the last four weeks.

The volume scoring nature of White’s game, and with how well he runs in transition, he should be able to get to the line at least twice as often once he starts to figure out more of the flow of the game in the NBA. He’s still young, and learning how to best use his skill set in an efficient way on the offensive end of the floor is part of the growth we’re waiting to see out of his game.

White and the Bulls now hold a record of 28-39 on the season following their solid 22-point win over the Boston Celtics at home at the United Center on May 7. Next up for the Bulls is an opportunity to extend their winning streak to three games when they face the divisional foe Detroit Pistons on the road on May 9.