3 Bulls players shining with Chris Fleming as head coach

Chicago Bulls players standing out with Chris Fleming as the interim: Coby White

Among the slow starters to the season for the Bulls was the third-year point guard Coby White. But the slow start from White was definitely expected since he made his season debut last month after working his way back from a shoulder injury he suffered back in the spring and had to get surgery for.

Coby was definitely slow out of the gates after making his season debut on Nov. 15 in a win over the Los Angeles Lakers. He shot worse than 35 percent from the field and had a box plus/minus below zero in five of his first six games of the season and eight of his first 10. But in the last four games, he’s scored in the double figures in three and was a net positive in all four for the Bulls.

In his three games since Fleming took over as the interim head coach while Donovan is in the health and safety protocol, Coby has combined for a +18. He’s averaged around 13 points per game, three rebounds, four assists, one steal, and one block. White was also slotted into the starting five with point guard Lonzo Ball in the health and safety protocol.

You could argue that Coby just put together his most complete performance of the regular season so far in the Bulls Dec. 29 win over the Hawks. He registered his first double-double of this season with 17 points and 12 assists. That came on 6-of-14 shooting from the field and 3-of-9 from beyond the arc, with three rebounds and one block.

With Lonzo in the protocol and Fleming serving as the interim head coach, White is getting more of an opportunity to open up his offensive game. That’s allowing him to get in rhythm shooting from the field, which is also expanding his court vision as a whole.

Coby is finding his groove of late. And if he can continue to be an offensive spark plug coming off the bench, once Lonzo and fellow point guard Alex Caruso return to the rotation, this will be a very potent second unit for Donovan and the Bulls.