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Bulls’ Coby White has big second half, hits career milestone

By Blake Cockrum

ATLANTA, GA - DECEMBER 27: Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks shoots against Coby White #0 of the Chicago Bulls during the first half at State Farm Arena on December 27, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - DECEMBER 27: Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks shoots against Coby White #0 of the Chicago Bulls during the first half at State Farm Arena on December 27, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) /
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Chicago Bulls point guard Coby White had a 10-point third quarter against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night and hit a career milestone along the way.

Coby White’s third professional season has been a difficult one, to say the least.

He began the 2021-22 campaign on the sideline as he recovered from offseason shoulder surgery. Then, after the Bulls landed point guard Lonzo Ball in a sign-and-trade over the summer, White was relegated to a reserve role with the team he started 54 games with the season prior. To add to it, he’s been largely unproductive since joining the Bulls’ rotation on November 15.

But with Ball currently in the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols, White is getting an opportunity to grace the first-place Bulls’ starting lineup.

He didn’t fare well in his first game back in the starting rotation on the front end of a back-to-back Sunday night (eight points on 3-for-10 shooting), and the first half of his game against the Hawks on Monday night didn’t look much better.

White really got going in the second half, though, scoring 10 points in the third quarter and helping the Bulls build an 11-point lead going into the fourth quarter. That included a pair of three-pointers and an emphatic dunk, and the latter helped him achieve a career milestone.

After White threw down the powerful slam to give the Bulls a 12-point lead midway through the third quarter — and the emotional yell he let out afterward — the former Tar Heel was sitting at 2,000 career points scored. He scored 859 of those as a rookie, and another 1,041 of them last season.

And although this season simply has not gone as he hoped it would, perhaps his career milestone, strong second half, and recent appearances in the Bulls’ starting lineup will work as building blocks to get him back to where he was a season ago.

Ball, the only Chicago player to appear in all 29 of the team’s games this season prior to entering COVID-19 protocols, will have to produce two negative PCR tests within 24 hours or spend 10 days in isolation in order to get back onto the court. White will presumably get the starting nod until then and hope to make the most of his opportunities during that stretch.

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White will be back out on the court when the Bulls welcome the Hawks to the United Center on Wednesday night.

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