Chicago Bulls: How Billy Donovan can adjust Coby White’s usage
The lone piece of the Chicago Bulls previous young core under the front office regime of John Paxson and Gar Forman at this point is the third-year former North Carolina Tar Heels point guard Coby White. The seventh overall pick of GarPax and the Bulls in the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft has played well in spots, but has yet to really breakthrough in a major way through two seasons.
In his rookie season, White registered a -2.8 box plus/minus rating, .026 win shares per 48 minutes, 11.9 player efficiency rating, and a -2.84 RPM (thanks to ESPN advanced stats). That ESPN RPM for White during his rookie campaign was good to rank in the bottom 15th percentile among qualifying point guards that season.
He did improve in certain ways last season. White registered a -2.6 box plus/minus, .052 win shares per 48 minutes, 12.0 player efficiency rating, and a -0.93 RPM. Clearly the win shares per 48 minutes and RPM favored White’s efficiency more so last season compared to his rookie year.
That was largely thanks to the Bulls winning a higher percentage of games that White played in last season compared to his rookie season, and his improvement in assist-to-turnover ratio and his shooting percentages. White shot 35.9 percent from downtown and 90.1 percent from the charity stripe last season, compared to 35.4 percent from three-point range and 79.1 percent from the charity stripe in 2019-20.
Improvement that White put on display in certain respects last season can give head coach Billy Donovan a blueprint moving forward for how to use him heading into the 2021-22 campaign.
For one, it is critical that the Bulls effectively utilize White for his natural volume-scoring ability and improvement catch-and-shoot ability. Although, when White is cooking, Donovan needs to let him do his thing.
Chicago Bulls can start to make the most of Coby White next season
There were times last season where White was insane from deep. For instance, he shot better than 40 percent from beyond the arc last season on nearly 1.5 three-point attempts per game when he took at least three dribbles. And he shot better than 46 percent from beyond the arc last season when he touched the ball for at least six seconds.
However, when White isn’t in a great rhythm shooting from deep, let him get some open looks with the increased floor spacing thanks to this improved supporting cast. In general, White did shoot roughly two percent better from three last season on catch-and-shoot attempts rather than off-the-dribble.
And White still shot better than 37 percent from beyond the arc when the defender was at least six-feet away from him on the close out.
Where Donovan can also use White in a way he’s excelled before is in the corners from three. Last season, White shot better than 47 percent from beyond the arc on more than 70 attempts from downtown. That is a pretty insane mark.
It’s clear that White can excel shooting really in two situations. He can work well when getting long possessions when he is cooking, or when he is open (especially in the corners). Put Coby in the right spots on the outside and give him the ball when he’s in rhythm and Donovan can make the most out of this potent scoring guard next season.
Where Donovan must minimize White’s weaknesses will be on the defensive end of the floor. White somehow fouled just shy of 100 shooters in tracked games last season, good for top three on the team. Most Bulls fans know all too well how adept Coby was to unnecessarily fouling three-point shooters last season.
Let Coby get out on the floor with some more effective floor generals that are solid on and off-ball defenders. The Bulls could utilize some two-man backcourt combinations now that could be pretty potent with the likes of Alex Caruso and Lonzo Ball with White.
The plan of attack for Donovan with White should be clear next season. Utilize this talented volume-scoring guard in situations where his defensive liability won’t be glaring, and where he can maximize his quickness off-the-dribble, and his improving catch-and-shoot ability. That’s not to mention how effective he can be from the corners downtown.
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White could be set to miss most, or all of, Training Camp and the preseason for the Bulls following his shoulder procedure earlier in the offseason. We’ll continue to monitor his recovery timeline as he tries to work his way back for the Bulls ahead of the start of the regular season on Oct. 20, against the Detroit Pistons on the road.