As the Chicago Bulls embark on the final stretch of the season — 27 games following the All-Star Break — much of the narrative surrounding the team has focused on young player development, particularly that of Matas Buzelis.
But in the Bulls 128-110 loss to the Detroit Pistons, their second loss to Detroit in as many nights, the growth of some of their other young players came more into focus: how do Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu evolve as they rise in the pecking order?
“With Zach being gone, and obviously (his) 24, 25 points,” head coach Billy Donovan said. “Vooch has dealt with this for his entire career, where, he’s the starting center and a former All-Star, he’s going against first line guys. But for someone like Coby, now, all of a sudden, the best defender on the other team now is on him. And this is something that’s going to be a good learning and growing opportunity for him.”
White struggled mightily in both games against Detroit, combining for 12 points on 4-of-27 shooting (14.8 percent) and 2-of-17 from (11.7 percent) beyond the arc. Teams are throwing their best, most physical defenders at him to disrupt his rhythm and take him out of his game.
“I’m getting the best defender,” White said. “There’s a hierarchy during the scouting report. Without Zach and DeMar, I’m probably high up on it. So, I mean, teams adjust. They see what I bring offensively, and then they adjust to it; don’t help as much, get me going to my left hand, no pull-up threes, stuff like that. So it’s all good. It’s gonna take some adjusting too, but I’m excited for it.”
The box score may not always accurately reflect whether he positively impacted the game, and in the third quarter, after missing all six field goal attempts in the first half, White started to look more like himself.
“I love the way he played in the second half in terms of trying to move and get into space,” Donovan said. “He didn’t shoot the ball great, but he got threes up, which I thought was good. He got nine threes up. That, to me, is great. And I think there’s a lot to do with him working off the ball and finding open spots. (Ausar) Thompson’s a really long, physical, strong defender, so a lot of times when you’re off the ball you get to try to find windows and opportunities to catch and shoot.”
While White struggled, Dosunmu was responsible for the Bulls keeping this game as close as it was. He had 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting, and although he didn’t connect on any of his three-point attempts, he got to the foul line for six attempts.
“It’s definitely different,” Dosunmu acknowledged. “Two premier All-Stars gone. We’re up for the challenge. Like I said, we want to continue to get better, continue to grow, continue to watch film, continue to talk to the coaching staff on ways we can get better.”
As the Bulls head into the break, they own a 22-33 record. They’re 10th in the East and 8th in the Tankathon order.
“We’ve got to use the break as a reset,” White said. “When we come back, we got to each look ourselves in the mirror. What can we do better? How can we come back with a different mindset? The season is filled with ups and downs, so with the break, just enjoy time with family and friends. Use it as a as a reset button. Come back, and then, we got the rest of the season.”
Tank Race
Despite the Bulls losing four in a row and three straight since the trade deadline, they haven’t made up any ground in the tankathon order.
On Wednesday, the Brooklyn Nets beat the Philadelphia 76ers, leapfrogging them and pushing the 76ers into the bottom six. Both the Nets and the 76ers are 1.5 games behind the Bulls, who remain in the 10th seed.
Given their current position, it’s starting to seem as though Philadelphia is not going to make the push for the Play-In that everyone expected. Instead, they’ll likely pull the plug on the season to give themselves the best chance to retain their top-six protected pick owed to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Bulls play the 76ers in their third game after the break and on the final day of the regular season. Those matchups could determine their Play-In fate.
Still, the players aren’t concerned with the draft. They’re focused on bouncing back from a losing streak and competing down the stretch.
“We’re in the 10th spot,” Dosunmu said. “We have a lot of basketball ahead of us. We control our own destiny. We use these days to recoup and still understand that it’s a lot of basketball to be played, and we have a great opportunity to go out there and do something special.”
