Back on Nov. 15, second-year head coach Billy Donovan and the Chicago Bulls saw third-year former North Carolina Tar Heels point guard Coby White make his season debut. While it was nice to see White back in the lineup after working his way back from a shoulder injury he suffered early last offseason, he was limited in terms of playing time off the bench against the Los Angeles Lakers.
The same was true for Coby in a loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on the road at the Moda Center on the night of Nov. 17. In his first two games with the Bulls this season after working his way back from injury/shoulder surgery during the offseason, White has only averaged a little north of 10.5 minutes per game.
It looks like White is on a minutes restriction in his first week back from injury. He played between 10 and 11 minutes in each of the last two games.
When will the Chicago Bulls give Coby White more minutes off the bench?
Coby White checks in at 10:21 mark of 2nd to make his season debut.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) November 16, 2021
The plan from Donovan in the matchup against the Lakers on Nov. 15 was to play White between 10 and 18 minutes. But he’s definitely played on the shorter end of that spectrum in terms of minutes in each of the last two games.
Bulls coach Billy Donovan said Coby White will play roughly 10-18 minutes vs. Lakers.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) November 16, 2021
It also looks like White is still finding his rhythm and trying to fight off any discomfort from his injury. In his first two games back, White has no points and is 0-of-4 shooting from the field and 0-of-2 from beyond the arc. White has also registered two rebounds, one assist, and one personal foul.
Since the Bulls needed a scoring boost off the bench in the loss to the Blazers on Nov. 17, this might be a situation in the future where Donovan gives White more minutes off the bench. The star duo of shooting guard Zach LaVine and shooting guard/forward DeMar DeRozan was inconsistent down the stretch as the Bulls were beaten by a margin of 20 points in the second half.
Donovan tends to be getting White in the game right in the middle of the action. All of White’s field goal attempts came in the second quarter against the Lakers and the Blazers. It will be interesting to see if, and when, Donovan has enough faith that White is ready to go to play him down the stretch when it matters in the second half.
White is a valuable volume scorer for the Bulls to utilize off their bench. When the usual scorers for the Bulls are struggling, he can be a necessary spark to plug to put in the game for Donovan and his staff.
If the Bulls are struggling to close out in the second half, or just are flat on the offensive end in their next game against the Denver Nuggets, I would expect White to at least get three or four more minutes off the bench if he’s in rhythm. If he’s ready to go, it’s definitely time to elevate his role in the second unit.
Following the loss to the Blazers on the road on Nov. 17, the Bulls are sporting a record of 10-5. Next up for Coby and the Bulls in this Western Conference road trip is a meeting with the Nuggets on Nov. 19.