Chicago Bulls' White works on using his speed to score
Coby White scored 19 points against Atlanta on Wednesday without knocking down a 3-point shot. The 11 shots from inside 3-point range were a season high for the rookie guard, but nothing too unusual. White has taken 10 2-point shots six times.
It is an attempt to take advantage of his speed, though, trying to add drives to the basket to his dangerous 3-point game.
"Not really (getting) instructions, but my coaches have said I can get downhill a little more," White said Thursday at the Advocate Center. "I'm kind of letting teams off the hook by shooting step-backs and stuff like that. I try to make it a point of emphasis of late.
"Coming into the league, I was more of a downhill guy. I wasn't labeled a shooter. So I'm just trying to get back to that; playing with more speed, like I know I can."
White ranks third on the Bulls in percentage of points from 3-point baskets at 48 percent. Denzel Valentine and Ryan Arcidiacono are higher.
Overall this season, White is averaging 5.8 attempts per game from 3-point range and shooting 33.8 percent. From 2-point, he's at 6.2 attempts and 39.1 percent.
"Finishing around the rim hasn't been as good as I wanted it to be," White said. "I've been working on it a lot. I feel like the thing for me, I have no problem getting there. It's just finishing around the length and the athleticism. In college it was different, you weren't going against 7-footers every night with the athleticism they have and the physicality they bring.
Try to get tougher:
Coach Jim Boylen has spoken often about wanting the Bulls to improve their physicality. That's a trait that doesn't seem to fit their two main pieces, Zach LaVine and Lauri Markkanen.
"They're not. You wouldn't call them old-school physical guys, but I do think they can grow in that way," Boylen said Thursday. "I do think the effort and competitiveness has grown for both of them. The reason our defense is improving is because Zach has improved. That's important."
The Bulls were up to 12th in the league in defensive rating as of Thursday morning.
Hutchison progresses:
Chandler Hutchison, out since Nov. 27 with a right-shoulder sprain, played 3-on-3 on Thursday at the Advocate Center, marking his first contact practice since the injury occurred. He's not likely to play this weekend when the Bulls host Charlotte and the Clippers.