In Monday’s game, Coby White was the top player at Footprint Center for three quarters.
It's impressive to do that in any arena, especially in Phoenix, where White was competing with Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, and Devin Booker, along with his teammate, DeMar DeRozan. But it's not an exaggeration.
For 36 minutes, White was undeniable. He shot deep 3-pointers, maneuvered through traffic to pass to his teammates, and scored around the rim despite contact. White scored 10 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, trying to counter Durant's strong performance.
However, in the final two minutes, White wasn’t the player the Bulls relied on for game-winning shots. That role still belonged to DeRozan, who took four of Chicago’s five shots in the last 128 seconds of a 115-113 loss. The crucial two minutes of Monday’s game brought up an important question: When will White have proven himself as the player to have the ball in his hands as the final seconds tick away?.
The last two minutes of Monday’s game raised an important question: At what point will White have earned the right to be the player with the ball in his hands while the final seconds rattle off the clock?
For DeRozan, the answer is simple: White has already earned it.
“Without a doubt,” DeRozan said. “If he got it rolling or even if he looked at me and said he wanted it, wouldn’t be no problem. That’s how much trust we got in him.”
Monday’s game was not lost in clutch time. The Bulls led by 23 in the third quarter, then deflated under the pressure of a Suns run. DeRozan wasn’t the only player the Bulls went to for the potential equalizer — the first play was drawn up to give Patrick Williams a lob at the basket for a dunk, capitalizing on the fact that the Bulls only had 1.6 seconds to work with on the clock.
And the final made shot of the game was more of a reflection of Durant’s clutch brilliance than any defensive lapse or poor decision-making by the Bulls.
Nevertheless, this is an important aspect to continue redefining as the Bulls move forward. The identity of this team has shifted around White, whose breakout season has created a clear direction for how the future can and should look in Chicago. However, in those crucial moments, it appears that veteran experience still takes precedence. The Bulls have played more critical minutes than most other teams this season — 23 of their games have ended with an average of 4.6 minutes spent in the clutch. The team has performed well in these moments, going 13-10 in games that ended in clutch time while shooting 48.9% from the field. Not every one of those games came down to a buzzer-beater, but it gives a broad sample of how the Bulls like to approach these moments. Sometimes the ball goes elsewhere — for instance, Alex Caruso has had opportunities to win games or send them into overtime with buzzer-beaters. However, the Bulls tend to rely on DeRozan.
This would be true on almost any team. DeRozan is one of the most dependable active players in the NBA. He ranks among the top five currently active players in career clutch shooting behind Durant, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, and LeBron James. This season, he’s made the fourth-highest number of field goals in clutch time (25) on 51% shooting.
It's difficult to argue that DeRozan shouldn't have the ball in his hands for a game-winning shot, considering his body of work. However, if the Bulls continue building their future around White, they will likely start trusting him with more of these important moments.
How can the Bulls achieve that goal?
This season, White has taken 32 shots in clutch situations across 23 games. He is behind only DeRozan, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vučević in these crucial attempts. Although his 3-point shooting has decreased in these moments, going 5-for-17 (29.4%) from 3-point range, White maintains a consistent 50% shooting rate from the field during clutch time.
White has taken significant shots in crucial moments, often in the absence of his experienced teammates. For instance, he made 3-pointers in clutch time and overtime during a win over the Milwaukee Bucks in November while both LaVine and DeRozan were unable to play.
DeRozan mentioned that White is not afraid to speak up during the final minutes, requesting Donovan to change one of the final plays in Monday’s loss to set up a look that he preferred.
DeRozan said, "He changed the play and Coby came down, was aggressive and made something out of it. That’s the trust we’ve got in him, whatever it is, if it’s taking the last shot or running the play, whatever it may be."
Given this existing dynamic, it seems that these crucial moments are now White’s to handle. His shooting percentage during clutch time is almost the same as DeRozan's, and he has become more confident as the season has progressed, both from behind the 3-point line and in his ability to get past defenders to reach the basket.
In order for White to advance in his development, he has to start refining himself in these critical moments with the game on the line. DeRozan mentioned that White just needs to do one thing to make this happen: Ask for the ball.
For three quarters of Monday’s game at Footprint Center, Coby White was the standout player. This is noteworthy anywhere in the league, but particularly in Phoenix, where White was competing with Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and Devin Booker alongside his teammate, DeMar DeRozan. This is not an exaggeration.
For White to take the next step in his development, he’ll need to begin honing himself in these moments with the game on the line. And DeRozan said White just has to do one thing to make this happen: Ask for the ball.
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