On the night of Jan. 7, the Chicago Bulls and second-year head coach Billy Donovan got a big win to move the winning streak to a season-long nine games. The Bulls topped the Washington Wizards and star shooting guard Bradley Beal at home at the United Center on Jan. 7 by the final score of 130-122.
And if not for a late rally from the Wizards in the fourth quarter, the Bulls easily had a 15-20 point win under their belt heading into the weekend.
It was largely the play of rookie point guard Ayo Dosunmu and third-year point guard Coby White that got the Bulls this win over the Wizards by eight points on Jan. 7. White gave the Bulls a whopping 21 points coming off the bench, along with two rebounds, three assists, no steals, no blocks, and two turnovers.
And White shot an amazing 7-of-8 from the field, 4-of-4 from beyond the arc, and 3-of-3 from the free-throw line. This was a nearly spotless offensive performance from White coming off the bench. It goes without saying that the Bulls aren’t going to lose many games when Coby is producing at this level for the second unit.
Dosunmu also provided a huge boost for the Bulls off the bench in this game. He registered 18 points, five rebounds, four assists, three steals, no blocks, and two turnovers. And Dosunmu shot 7-of-9 from the field, 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, and 1-of-2 from the free-throw line.
The combination of Coby and Ayo was a driving force for the Bulls to top the Wizards on Jan. 7. This duo is also a rising force for the Bulls that can push this team even further in terms of contender status in the second half of the season.
More specifically to Coby, though, his play of late for the Bulls is something that is guiding this team to form the nine-game winning streak they’re currently sitting on. He’s really shined in the three games for the Bulls so far in January.
Coby White is producing in an ultra-efficient manner of late for the Chicago Bulls
In the three games he’s played in this month, Coby has averaged around 20 points per game, two rebounds, three assists, 0.5 steals, and 0.5 blocks. And he’s shot 64 percent from the field, 59 percent from beyond the arc, and is perfect on six attempts from the charity stripe.
Another point worth noting in terms of the way Coby is playing for the Bulls so far this season is how important he is to this second unit. He’s a true offensive spark plug that can help the Bulls win these high-scoring games with other fast-paced teams such as the Wizards.
One more point to hit on in regards to how much success the Bulls can find this season if White is going to provide the team with this much efficient scoring is pretty impressive.
There are three games this season where White has scored at least 20 points while shooting at least 50 percent from the field. And the Bulls have won all three of those games by a margin of no less than a half-dozen points.
And in the five games this season where White scored at least 15 points while shooting at least 50 percent from the field and 50 percent from beyond the arc, the Bulls haven’t lost yet.
The Bulls are also 11-1 in the dozen games in White’s career where he registered at least 20 points and three assists while shooting at least 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from beyond the arc.
It’s clear that in games that White is scoring like this, especially if he’s coming off the bench, the Bulls are going to be extremely dangerous. White is playing amazing basketball for the Bulls of late, and it is something definitely worth recognizing for fans in Chicago.
Coby and the Bulls are now sitting on a record of 26-10 following their eight-point win over the Wizards on Jan. 7. That is still good for the top spot in the Eastern Conference standings right now. Next up for the Bulls is a meeting with superstar point guard Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks on Jan. 9.