Point guard Coby White admitted that life under new coach Billy Donovan hasn’t been easy on him.
And he loves every minute of it.
“The goal for me is to be able to lead a team in the NBA,’’ White said. “The coaching staff has been patient, but don’t get me wrong, they’ve all challenged me, especially Billy. He’s definitely challenged me on both ends of the court on being a point guard. He’s tough on me, but that’s all you can ask for from a coach — to be tough on you and to get the best out of you.
“I’m going to take on that challenge. I’m going to keep growing, keep maintaining. I know there are going to be ups and downs, there are going to be bumps in the road, but as long as I keep growing and keep going upward, that’s all I can ask for.’’
The hope is that there has been growth because there undoubtedly have been ups and downs for White in his second season.
In the last five games heading into the matchup against the Lakers, White has shown the good, the bad and the ugly. There was the 13-assist game against the Clippers as well as the 18-point, eight-assist game against the Hornets on Friday that had Donovan praising the 2019 seventh overall pick.
But there was also a four-turnover, 8-for-20 shooting performance in a Jan. 15 loss to the Thunder that had Donovan again challenging White to be better.
As far as the ugly? White was all but a no-show in the victory in Dallas on Jan. 17, going 0-for-5 from the field with only four assists.
Donovan expected some inconsistency during White’s on-the-job lead-guard training, but he has been preaching that if the shot isn’t falling, the night isn’t lost.
“He can do other things to help,’’ Donovan said. “He can defend. He can get in there and help rebound. He can start the break. He can get into the teeth of the defense. He can get fouled. He can make an extra pass.
“And we need him to do it. He just can’t become — I’m not saying he’s doing that — but he can’t become one-dimensional and just be a guy that catches and shoots or just tries to score off his jump shot. He’s got to do other things because he’s capable of it.”
Welcome back, Carter?
Starting center Wendell Carter Jr. missed his second consecutive game Saturday with a bruised right quadriceps, and Donovan didn’t want to speculate about his availability for the game Monday against the Celtics.
“He’s made progress; he feels better,’’ Donovan said.
The problem for Carter is the Bulls will be off Sunday, so with no practice scheduled, getting treatment remains his only option.
Timing is everything
Donovan said he hasn’t been given a clear explanation for why the tipoff times for the games against the Lakers and Celtics were moved from 7 p.m. to 8, but he figured it had to do with the league’s coronavirus protocols.
“If I was guessing, I think some of it could be the number of times these guys are testing,’’ Donovan said. “Maybe an hour pushback gives them more time to get results, more time to contact-trace, more time for the guys to rest. It’s changed over the last couple of weeks in terms of the way the testing is done and the number of times we’re having to test.’’
