Bulls guard Coby White misses his first game of season with hip injury

The imaging tests on guard Coby White’s right hip came back clean.

That loud collective sigh of relief came from the entire Bulls organization.

It wasn’t all good news, however, as White missed his first game of the season Thursday with the injury.

Still, as bad as it looked when Pacers forward Pascal Siakam landed on White and bent his leg back Wednesday, it could’ve been much worse.

“He is dealing with some discomfort and soreness there, so it’s going to be how quickly and soon he can get over that,” coach Billy Donovan said. “It’s probably going to be when he can start to feel comfortable to get back to playing.”

Before having his perfect attendance ruined, White came into the game against the Clippers seventh in the league in minutes per game at 36.7.

His previous high was 31.2 minutes in the 2020-21 season, and last season, it was a career-low 23.4 minutes.

White, who has emerged as a Most Improved Player of the Year candidate, has taken on more responsibility, and his playing time has increased, as well.

Donovan admitted that he has noticed some fatigue from White at times.

“I think for Coby, it has been an eye-opening experience in a lot of ways,” Donovan said. “One is he’s got an incredible threshold to fight through things. Whether it’s physical or mental things, he’s got a lot of resiliency. But I think coming into the season, with what his role was the previous year, I don’t know if he would have ever anticipated the number of minutes he’s gotten this year.

“I do think that what he’s gone through this year, it will probably open up his mind to even train differently this summer. I think that’s part of his evolution as a player. Those elite players, they have to do that night in and night out on both ends of the floor.”

Playing with veteran DeMar DeRozan, who leads the NBA in minutes per game, works in White’s favor because he can bounce concerns and questions off him.

That’s why Donovan felt good about White’s continued trajectory.

“When you go through it like he has, I’m sure he’s looking at his summer and saying, ‘Wow, where I’m at now, what would I have done differently, and how do I actually get better through this?’ ’’ Donovan said. “I think he’ll actually learn from it.”

Rookie blues

Rookie forward Julian Phillips did his best to try to play through a sore right foot against the Pacers but didn’t look right after 11 scoreless minutes.

He was held out of the game against the Clippers with the hope that he’ll be ready to return Saturday.

The other rookie

Onuralp Bitim, who remained in the sixth-man role against the Clippers, has impressed Donovan with his fearlessness.

While the former Turkish League standout is still adjusting to the speed and pace of the NBA, Donovan has liked what he has seen.

“The one thing I will say is the environments he’s come from and he’s played in overseas, they’ve been very hostile, very competitive and a high level of basketball,” Donovan said. “I would say he’s not afraid of the moment, but he needs experience.”