The same day, I wondered if my legs were tired or not. I finally caught up with himWhite scored a career high 37 points to lead the Chicago Bulls in an epic comeback effort on the road. From the second quarter, he undoubtedly appeared as the most dynamic scorer on the field. And that’s saying something considering De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis were on the other side.
Certainly, White’s shooting stats were going in the wrong direction over the past two weeks. But the guard showed everyone last night that he still has his place at the top of the most improved player race.
In his 44 minutes of action, White scored 37 points with 7 assists and 5 rebounds. He also shot 14-19 from the field and drained both the tie and the go-ahead goal in the final 1:32 of play. Yet despite being the catalyst for the team’s shocking victory , he refused to accept any recognition after the match:
“I think it was a team effort,” White told reporters in the locker room (with Julia Poe). “Ayo played really big, AC, I think, had four or five steals, so he played really big. Julian came in and gave us big minutes [and] I had a big time commitment…everyone contributed to the victory. Vooch with the late tip which allowed AC to take the offensive rebound. Drum, the way he was controlling tonight was incredible, bringing all the guards down. JC – everyone contributed to this victory. I don’t really think “Deebo and I did this and that.” I consider that we have a good and solid team. And I’m proud of our team.
Many players will ignore the spotlight after a great performance, but the way White does it seems so sincere. There’s not an ounce of arrogance that escapes when he opens his mouth. The 23-year-old truly presents himself as someone who puts winning above all else. And I think that’s precisely what his high play has started to reflect this season. Sure, he hits some clutch shots and scrambles some poster dunks, but he also has a career-high in assists and is tied for 10th for most charges made. In other words, he does everything he can to put his team in the best possible position. That’s why he has a career-high +6.6 on/off differential, by Glass Cleaning.
If you couldn’t keep your eyes peeled for last night’s late-night affair, do yourself a favor and watch White’s highlights:
Let’s follow White’s lead and give some love to a few other key contributors. While White ultimately stole the show, it was Ayo Dosunmu who set the tone from the jump. As the Chicago Bulls struggled to keep up with the Kings’ all-around offensive attack, Dosunmu brought the top-down mentality the Bulls needed to stay alive. He would finish the first half with 15 of his 20 points on 7-10 shooting. By the time the final buzzer sounded, six of its nine field goals came from assertive drives to the rim. The shooting grid was absolutely beautiful…
Dosunmu would also mark his 2,000 career points on a crucial 3-point shot that would cut the Kings’ lead to just 4 points. Oh, and who helped Dosunmu with a no-look pass? His young running mate in the backcourt, of course!
I know we keep bringing it up, but that’s because it’s one of the very few positive things to talk about: the Chicago Bulls have two legitimate building blocks in the backcourt. Not to mention they both benefit from cheap multi-year deals! I’m not ready to say the future is bright for the team as a whole, but it certainly is for these two ‘youngsters’.
KC Johnson Talks to Ayo Dosunmu and Coby White DeMar DeRozan Comes to ‘My Young, My Young’ pic.twitter.com/UxATNdy1TT
— ✶ Ⓜ️???????????????????? ▶️ ✶ (@_MarcusD3_) March 5, 2024
The Chicago Bulls refuse to play a normal basketball game… Exhibit A:
At least four Bulls wins are crazy this season:
– beat the Raptors after trailing by 17 with 4:58 left in regulation
– beat Heat after being down 22-1 in the first minutes
– beat the Wolves after trailing by 23 early in the 3rd Q
Not all 22-point comebacks are equal. Make no mistake, the Chicago Bulls deserve a round of applause for the way they finished this game. Hell, we haven’t even discussed DeMar DeRozan’s great 7-7 performance in the fourth quarter for 19 points. But the truth is that the Kings played a crucial role in their own demise. Sabonis fouled out with 3 minutes left…and the Kings would only score ONE point. They also turned the ball over six times in the final 12 minutes while shooting 6-30 from the field. Yes, the Bulls increased their defensive intensity and made some key stops. But it was a pretty remarkable collapse on the part of the Kings, and De’Aaron Fox knows it.
LOL: Alex Caruso felt bad for a fan who dropped a few dollars on him last night…
Caruso finished with 7 assists and 4 steals, so it wasn’t a complete dud for the famous role player last night. But he managed a horrible 1-10, which included an 0-6 performance from downtown. One of the main reasons the Chicago Bulls fell behind in the second quarter was the amount of offense the guard ran. I love me some Caruso, but the ball shouldn’t end up in his hands with the end of the possession. There’s a reason this wasn’t a game until White and DeRozan started playing a little more selfishly.
We’ve seen Caruso’s 3-ball drop off a bit over the last few weeks. In fact, he’s only shooting 32.1% since the start of 2024, which is a huge drop from his 45.5% shooting rate through the first 28 games of the season. I knew he wasn’t going to maintain this level of efficiency, but I also didn’t think the situation would turn around so harshly. However, for what it’s worth, White recently shared with KC Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago which he played because of a sprained thumb in January and February. Looks like he’s in great shape, but I guess last night showed he’s still waiting to get his touch back.
