Two matches, two victories. The Bulls' record without Zach LaVine is perfect, and last night, Billy Donovan's players won a convincing victory against the Pelicans. To guide them, an amazing Coby White, author of 31 points with a superb 8 out of 13 from 3-point range! A performance worthy of a Stephen Curry or a Damian Lillard for a player who is shooting 40% from 3-point range this season.
Thirteen 3-point attempts is a record for him this season, and he explains why he let go from afar…
“Well, actually, I was in trouble because I wasn't taking them”he laughs at a press conference. “There were a few video sessions where the coach stopped a sequence and told me to shoot when I didn't. Everyone, from my teammates to my staff to the managers, told me: “Don’t let any shots go by. Drawn ! We don’t care if you’re 0 out of 10 or 0 out of 15.”
A complete match
And White did so and he equaled his career record with eight successes, and he is not far from signing his best career game since he added 9 rebounds and 6 assists! “ He was ultra-aggressive, ultra-confident, decisive…” underlines DeMar DeRozan. “Coby did Coby… We couldn’t win without him tonight. It was unique! »
We don't know if it's LaVine's absence that frees him up, but White seems to have found the right balance between direction of the game and his role as shooter. He assures him that he is the same as at the start of the season, and it's just that the shots are finally coming in. Particularly because he simply learned to… shoot!
A change in gesture
“It didn’t really weigh on me. I felt them all very well when the ball left my hand. It's just that they didn't come back.” continues White. “Working with Peter Patton (head of player development) has helped me a lot. I finally started learning how to shoot. Before that, everyone said I knew how to shoot, but no one ever really taught me how to understand my shot. I was just shooting. He helped me a lot to master my shot, to understand why I was missing.”
Can he unlock the secret of this particular lesson? “I think what helped me the most was learning to place my body in the axis of the circle and maintaining my relaxation and my gestures towards the basket. I tended to either listen to my trajectory or follow it to the right. Most of the time my ball went to the right and that's when I missed my shots. These are the points I focused on.”
| Coby White | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2019-20 | CHI | 65 | 26 | 39.4 | 35.4 | 79.1 | 0.4 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 2.7 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 1.7 | 0.1 | 13.2 |
| 2020-21 | CHI | 69 | 31 | 41.6 | 35.9 | 90.1 | 0.4 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 4.8 | 2.6 | 0.6 | 2.3 | 0.2 | 15.1 |
| 2021-22 | CHI | 61 | 28 | 43.3 | 38.5 | 85.7 | 0.3 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 2.3 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 12.7 |
| 2022-23 | CHI | 74 | 23 | 44.3 | 37.2 | 87.1 | 0.2 | 2.7 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 9.7 |
| 2023-24 | CHI | 20 | 33 | 41.6 | 38.2 | 83.3 | 0.3 | 2.6 | 2.9 | 4.2 | 2.8 | 0.9 | 1.9 | 0.3 | 14.2 |
| Total | 289 | 27 | 41.9 | 36.8 | 85.3 | 0.3 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 1.5 | 0.2 | 12.7 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
