Fortunately for Coby White, his teammates played better in defense defending him than White on Monday night, in a brutal defeat for the humble Washington Wizards.
Lack of manpower or not, the Bulls lost to a Wizards team that was finishing a consecutive game, playing without Russell Westbrook and entering as one of the worst defensive teams in the league.
When Raul Neto scored two easy layups in the first 1 minute and 32 seconds of the second half, coach Billy Donovan pulled the plug. White came out, who failed to score in the first half, missing the five kicks. Tomáš Satoranský came in, who said he was feeling 100 percent after the fight against COVID-19.
“I gave up two layups, so I didn’t expect to stay,” said White.
To White’s credit, he recovered to finish with 8 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and just one turn in his 30 minutes, sinking a huge 8-foot jump with 29.2 seconds to play in a beautiful move outside the limits of Donovan. The shot pulled the Bulls into one and gave them enough time to regain possession.
But White shot 3 out of 10, missed four points out of 3 and fought too often defensively on another inconsistent night.
“Last year, I went through the same thing, going up and down kicking the ball, “said White, who is now 40 percent off the field.” Just try to be consistent, getting more shots at the gym. “
Donovan has consistently stated that he will stay with White, who is in his first season as a full-time starter and playing with the ball more than last season. But with the number of possessions in which Zach LaVine is playing as a point guard growing and Satoranský playing hard in recent times – including 9 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists on Monday – more quick hooks may be in White’s future.
“Everyone has bad games and low points. I think Coby, his effort, in the first place, is always there. He is always optimistic and looking to help the guys, even if he is not having the best night of shooting or the best game” said LaVine. “So, help him find some easy ones, put him in a rhythm. And when he gets into a rhythm, I think it will take off from there.”
Satoranský, while acknowledging White’s inconsistent play, also supported his teammate.
“I think this is the most difficult transition for someone who comes from college and is in the position of point guard. I can say this from experience and I was 25 years old when I came to the United States and tried to be point guard for an NBA team,” Satoranský said. “I think his aggressiveness is the best we can get from him, from him really playing at the pace. Sometimes he tries from that position of guard to be a very facilitator. And I always tell him, when he’s aggressive, he’s the best Coby, I know. And I think it’s the best for the team. “
This is the price the bulls are paying when trying to force White’s feed into the position of owner. Often, he seems to postpone, trying to get his five-man unit to play to the beat. He has not scored a 20-point game since January 30 and only has a 30-point game after registering three straight from the bench in the stretch last season.
“He has to play,” said Donovan. “Just to start hunting for shots, he’ll have to play … He didn’t hit many shots, but I think he got quite aggressive. I thought he tried to play downhill early. In fact, I don’t try to leave his feet early in terms of submission on the edge, but I always told him: be aggressive.
“We are counting on him to lead the team and put us in and out of the offenses and I saw a big growth in him. But I think the most important part of this has to be: benefiting and helping the team in terms of the people involved? “
Speaking of questions, did we mention that White’s teammates defended and supported him?
“It is difficult for him, for sure. There is a lot of pressure. But he is up to that pressure, ” Satoransky said. “He has been an amazing student and is doing everything right in training and all the hard work. So I have confidence in him. “
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