Will surprising Bulls be even better when White returns?
The Bulls are the surprise of the early-season NBA with a 6-1 record. Defending champ Oklahoma City is the only other team with 1 loss.
It's possible there's still room for improvement. Coby White, who projected as the team's leading scorer, has yet to play due to a right calf strain.
White provided a status report after Thursday's practice at the Advocate Center. If all goes well, he's hoping to return to game action during the three-game Western road trip from Nov. 16-19.
“I should be able to practice next week,” White said. “I'm back playing 3-on-3, 2-on-2, playing live and stuff. I feel good physically. No setbacks. I've been running a lot, and a lot, and a lot … just trying to make sure I'm staying conditioned.”
The Bulls have three days off late next week. Coach Billy Donovan said the plan is to hold a full-contact practice on one of those days, so White can join in and see if he's ready for games.
White tried to be a full-contact practice participant four days before the regular season began but felt some tightness in his calf. So the medical staff thought it was better to play it safe and give the injury a few more weeks to heal.
“I probably practiced a little too long and felt some symptoms,” White said. “It wasn't a re-strain or anything like that. It was just like a minor setback.”
The calf injury has been lingering for a few months. White said it happened in mid-August, shortly before Bulls players took a group trip to Miami to start getting ready for the season.
The Bulls are being especially cautious, due in part to the abundance of Achilles injuries in the NBA. Three all-stars — Tyrese Haliburton, Jayson Tatum and Damian Lillard — are sidelined by Achilles tears. White said he was told his Achilles tendon is holding up well.
“They always do, like, tendon scanning,” White said. “And when I (scan) my Achilles, it's in the green, so it's very healthy. You can't (rule anything out). It's basketball, injuries are going to happen, but they said I'm not in that zone of danger.”
White feels confident he will help, not hinder, the Bulls once he returns to the rotation. They'll face a tough slate in the coming days with back-to-back road games in Milwaukee and Cleveland this weekend, followed by San Antonio at home on Monday, then at Detroit next Wednesday.
“Probably nobody picked us to be where we're at right now,” White said. “We're just confident in ourselves and confident in each other.
“I think the way I play fits perfectly with the way we play — quick decisions, I'm not a ball stopper, I don't hold the ball. I just play to win. I don't see no problem when it comes to me getting back to it. It just in terms of finding a rhythm.”
Ayo Dosunmu was a full participant in Thursday's light practice and the Bulls hope he'll be ready to play against the Bucks on Friday. He's missed the last two games with a left quad contusion.
Without White, Dosunmu has been the Bulls' third-leading scorer at 16.2 points per game, behind Josh Giddey and Nikola Vucevic.