(670 The Score) Bulls rookie guard Coby White's recent surge has earned him a promotion.
White will make his first career NBA start when the Bulls host the Cavaliers on Tuesday evening, White told reporters Monday. His elevation from sixth man to the starting lineup comes as White has averaged 25.2 points and shot 41.8% on 3-pointers in nine games since the All-Star break.
White will take the place of point guard Tomas Satoransky, who will now come off the bench.
"He's earned it," coach Jim Boylen said.
"The biggest thing is this is the new stage in his development. He's earned this opportunity. He's grown into this opportunity. We'll take it a game at a time and coach him the same way that we've been coaching him. I'm excited for him."
White, 20, is averaging 13.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 25.6 minutes across 64 games. The Bulls selected him at No. 7 overall last June.
"The biggest responsibility is to keep doing the things he's doing," Boylen said. "You don't become the starter and reinvent the way you play. You play the way you've been playing. He has played starter's minutes. He has played against starters in the minutes that he plays. So this is not a thing where we have this expectation for him to change who he is or what he's doing. Continue to grow with your competitiveness at the defensive end of the floor, honoring your assignments, grow with your decisions within our offense and continue to be aggressive like who you are."
Bulls guard Zach LaVine will miss his fifth straight game Tuesday due to a quad injury, Boylen added. Denzel Valentine and Shaq Harrison will continue to start on the wings for the Bulls.
