NEW YORK — Bulls guard Coby White wasn’t exactly sneaking up on opposing teams in previous seasons.
His tendencies were broken down on film, talked about in the walkthrough and put to ink in the pregame scouting report.
Opposing coaches probably reminded their teams that White can get hot from three-point range, but he likely was just another guy in the broad scope of concerns when defending the Bulls.
That’s no longer the case. White has made sure of that.
White is now a focal point in those scouting reports, and teams that still aren’t seeing it are about to have a 48-minute headache on their hands.
Not only has White been the Bulls’ most improved player through the first few months of the season, but he’s arguably in the running for the NBA’s most improved player.
Coach Billy Donovan knows that without even looking at the statistics and box scores because he has eyes.
In the Bulls’ first couple of games against the Heat this season, the usual suspects were defending White. In their last matchup Dec. 16, White had human vise grip Jimmy Butler on him through most of the first half.
The first time the Bulls played the Pacers this season, White was covered by Tyrese Haliburton, who isn’t exactly known for his defense. In the teams’ second meeting last week, he was guarded by defensive-minded players such as Aaron Nesmith and Andrew Nembhard.
Teams are changing the chess board on White. Rather than facing pawns, he now is seeing bishops and rooks thrown his way.
‘‘It’s not even [defenses] plastering him; it’s been totally different matchups,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘He’s getting different matchups from game to game because of the way he has played. I do think that this is the maturation process that he has to go through . . . but some of it has been that with Vooch [Nikola Vucevic] out and Zach [LaVine] out, [opponents] are going to send some of their better defenders at him. I think it speaks to what he’s done and how he’s played that they’re doing that.’’
Now White needs to take the next step and counter what foes are doing to him.
White started jumping off the film around Nov. 20, going on a 13-game run in which he averaged 23.4 points and shot 50.4% from three-point range.
Then came the game against Butler in Miami. White still is averaging 19.7 points since, but he is only 20-for-68 (29.4%) from three-point range, thanks in large part to all the attention he’s drawing and the defenders he’s facing.
‘‘Who wouldn’t want this challenge?’’ White said. ‘‘For me, this is what you dream of: being the focal point of the scouting report. I think it’s dope. It’s a sign of respect. I’m excited for what’s ahead of me.’’
What’s directly ahead of him is even more time in the film room. White always has been a student of the game, but often it was just focusing on the usual defenders. Now he must know everyone’s tendencies because he’s not quite sure who will be guarding him from game to game.
‘‘Some guys are physical, some guys are more handsy, some guys try and time crossovers,’’ White said. ‘‘So for me it expands on both ends of the court because now I’m the man in that kitchen and I’ve got to figure out ways I can [counter] those. Like I said, I take it as a sign of respect.’’
