CHICAGO (670 The Score) – Bulls veteran reserve guard Tomas Satoransky got straight to the point when asked what advice he gives struggling second-year point guard Coby White.
“I always tell him, when he’s aggressive, he’s the best Coby I know,” Satoransky said.
The topic was top of mind after the Bulls’ 105-101 loss to the Wizards at the United Center on Monday evening because White played a poor game, scoring eight points on 3-of-10 shooting while adding eight rebounds, three assists and one turnover in 30 minutes. It continued a recent trend for White, who’s shooting 36.0% in his last five games and 39.7% for the season.
Before a solid final frame, White’s performance through three quarters Monday was some of his roughest basketball of the season. It included getting yanked at the 9:59 mark of the third quarter – far earlier than usual – in favor of Satoransky after getting exploited defensively.
“I gave up two layups, so I wasn’t expecting to stay in,” White said.
Back in training camp, the 20-year-old White anointed the Bulls’ starting point guard. It has been a difficult challenge for him, because while he has had the ball in his hands plenty in his basketball journey, such a role isn’t natural for White, a score-first guard who has now been tasked with being a bigger facilitator. That has led to bouts of indecision and discomfort in how to best operate the Bulls’ offense at times, all while White’s shooting percentages have stalled.
Through the adversity, Bulls coach Billy Donovan has stood by White as his starting point guard again and again.
“I've always told him ‘stay aggressive,’” Donovan said. “Play downhill and if you got shots, certainly he's an elite shooter, we want him shooting the basketball. But I think for him, the biggest thing is, he's going to have to do both. We're relying on him to run the team and get us in and out of offenses, and he's done a really really -- I've seen a lot of growth in that from him. But I just think the shooting piece of it, it’s got to be, is it benefitting and helping the team in terms of are people involved? Are we standing? Are we watching? I thought a lot of times tonight, there was way too many possessions I thought we stood around and watched Zach (LaVine). And that's not only on Zach, that's on everybody.”
For his part, Satoransky echoed Donovan’s sentiment that the Bulls just need to give White time to learn and support him.
“There’s going to be ups and downs for him as a second-year player,” Satoransky said. “I think he’s been doing a good job. It’s tough on him, for sure. There’s big pressure. But he’s up to that pressure. He’s been an unbelievable learner and he’s been doing everything right in practices and doing all the hard work. So I have confidence in him.”
Cody Westerlund is a sports editor for 670TheScore.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.