Minutes after the Chicago Bulls lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers 108-105 on Wednesday, Coby White hunched over a folding table in the visitors locker room, his eyes fixated on the screen of a laptop.
White could wait to take off his jersey or get strapped up with ice. He wanted to review two plays — an overcooked pass that ricocheted through center Nikola Vučević’s hands for a turnover with 17 seconds left and his attempt at a game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer. And in the handful of minutes after the loss, the Bulls coaching staff already had cut up the tape, giving White the chance for a short, impromptu film session.
DeMar DeRozan peered over the guard’s shoulder, offering advice and encouragement. White tapped at the right arrow on the laptop keyboard, taking the play frame-by-frame, jabbing his finger at the screen as he pointed out every minute detail that could have been missed in real time.
After 15 minutes, White had determined exactly what he felt went wrong in the play — and how he could fix it in the future.
“I thought Vooch was going pop to the three, but he made the right play by coming in because I had took on (Evan) Mobley,” White said. “I knew it was going to be hard to finish over him. So I think if I just put the pass on the money, he got a layup or he got one of his little floaters that be automatic. In those moments, I just have to slow down a little bit more and make the right read. My intentions was right. I’ve just got to make the pass, slow down. I was too frantic.”
And after that impromptu film session, here’s Coby White’s breakdown of what he learned from that pass to Vooch that resulted in a turnover: “I gotta slow down. I feel like I was too frantic.” https://t.co/tHYhJgVQ2c pic.twitter.com/5jvoSyBJ2e
— Julia Poe (@byjuliapoe) February 15, 2024
Putting the ball in White’s hands for the final two game-tying attempts Wednesday was a crucial step for the Bulls. The moment in the locker room after the loss was even more influential. And White’s teammates and the coaching staff understand this: If they hope to grow with White as a core piece, they have to let their young guard take chances, even if it results in a loss.
For the last two seasons, the Bulls have had an automatic option in clutch moments: DeRozan. But as the offense shifts to center around both DeRozan and White, the young guard has been shouldering more shots and more risks in clutch moments.
It’s a responsibility White doesn’t take lightly.
“It’s probably the first time in my career I’ve been trusted in those type of moments,” White said. “For me to take steps in the right direction to become the player that I want to become in this league, I need those moments. It’s all part of the learning process. It’s all part of the journey.”
Even as he broke out in his revitalized role as point guard this season, White hasn’t been the go-to guy down the stretch.
Sometimes that’s by his own choice — White plays more minutes than anyone in the NBA, which means he often is gassed at the end of a clutch game, leaning heavily into his role as a facilitator to create shots for teammates rather than taking them himself.
But as the Bulls enter the final stretch of the season, coach Billy Donovan knows he needs to balance his team’s options in clutch moments.
“For our team, DeMar has been great,” Donovan said. “He’s an unbelievable closer. But there’s going to be times they’re going to double team him, there’s going to be times they’re going to trap him, there’s going to be times they may put a lot of length and size and deny him. He’s not going to always be the guy to save the day. We’re going to have different guys step up in different moments.”
DeRozan still isn’t shying from those moments, but he’s eager to see White step into a role as a game-winner.
Although he hasn’t been taking the final shots, White has responded strongly to a larger load in the clutch — averaging 44.7% from the field, leading the team with 0.7 assists per 4.5 minutes in the clutch.
So when the final shot went up in Cleveland, White already had DeRozan’s full trust.
“I love it,” DeRozan said. “I wish it went in for him, not just for him. Coby deserves those moments. Big-time player, big-time shot-maker. That was the shot. He asked me if could’ve took another dribble, pump fake, whatever. I said no. I’ll live with that shot 100 times.”
White is going to try not to linger on Wednesday’s loss — “try,” of course, being the keyword.
It doesn’t help that he’ll have to wait a full week to wash the memory of those final mistakes clean in the team’s next matchup against the Boston Celtics. But White knows he has to take chances if the Bulls are going to continue to trust him in game-winning moments.
“One thing that I’ve learned from Deebo (DeRozan) is that whether the shot goes in or not, he’s living with it,” White said. “He gave me motivation after the game, he just told me to move on from it and learn from it. I just can’t dwell on it. It is what it is. Obviously would’ve loved to make the shot — I’m going to dwell on it anyways, I’m not going to lie. But I’m going to try not to let it carry over.”