What was it like to have a career night in one of the biggest games of the season?
Yesterday's play-off match between the Bulls and the Hawks, whoever wins will keep the playoff hopes alive, and whoever loses will go home completely. Prior to this year, the Hawks had won all of their play-offs and were the same play-off kings as the Lakers. But yesterday, the eagles went home from vacation.
The man who sent them home had a Kobe in his name. Bulls guard Coby White played 43 minutes, shooting 15-of-21 from the field, 3-of-7 from three-point range and 9-of-10 from the free-throw line, finishing with 42 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 0 turnovers, including 25 points in the second half.
Whenever the Hawks have the momentum to chase points, Kobe White can stand up and reopen the difference, so the Hawks were basically subdued by Coby White alone in this game. The audience at the scene was also convinced by Kobe, and when he hit a long-range three-pointer to score the 37th point of the game, the whole audience chanted Kobe's name.
Even though "coby" and "kobe" are two different names, the same pronunciation and transliteration still remind you of that man in a trance.
42 points is a career high for Kobe White, and of course the play-in stats will not be counted in the career stats. At the same time, 42 points is also the second-highest score in playoff history, and the first highest is Tatum's 50 points.
Kobe White is the second player in Bulls history to score at least 40 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 0 turnovers in a single game, and the last one was Jordan. After the game, the reporter reminded White that the data for this game will not be counted in the regular season or playoffs, and White smiled and said, "I don't care, the data is there." ”
I have the impression that White has had many more games this season, especially after LaVine's absence. In early February and early March, he played four straight games with an efficient 20+ performance, scoring a career-high 37 points and using just 19 shots (14 of 14).
According to statistics, Koby White played in 79 games this season, averaging 19.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game, and his average points per game are 9.4 points higher than in 2022-23, with 1.6 more rebounds and 2.3 more assists per game.
White played in 74 regular season games last season, averaging 9.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. Because of this, he only signed a three-year contract of 36 million with the Bulls, which is very cheap in short.
Kobe White was the No. 7 pick in 2019 and a talented guard in North Carolina, but it took a long time to find his niche after entering the league. Although he was a substitute in the first year, his average of 12.2 shots per game was not low, and the ball on the bench was basically in his hands.
But White handed over a report card of 39.4 percent shooting from the field and 35.4 percent from three-point range, and he put on the coat of an inefficient brush when he first entered the league. The following year, White shot 41.6 percent from the field, but still shot less than 36 percent from three-point range.
The following year, Bryant averaged 15.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game, and he was about to play. Then that summer, Caruso, DeRozan and Ball joined the Bulls, which was certainly a good thing for the team, but for White, his tactical low post dropped significantly.
For the next two seasons, White was LaVine's substitute, and he was a good sixth man, doing as much as he could. In his contract year, he averaged a career-low number of points per game, which is why he signed such a cheap contract.
But this season, he moved from the bench to the starting line-up. LaVine was heavily used by the team before his injury, and after LaVine's injury, his ball possession skyrocketed even further, while also playing the most efficient first year of his career.
A rare thing about Kobe White is that he has come out of the shadow of the "parallel high-level show" and made his skills mature under the tempering of small roles. When it came time to regain his chance, he was ready for it. Others would have been surprised by his outburst, but he himself would not have been surprised at all.
If I had to choose, Kobe White would be the most improved player this season. But Maxi is clearly more famous and likely to get more votes.
Now Kobe White is just one win away from his second career playoff game, and standing in front of him is the No. 13 pick Herro, who ran in the same year as him. In last year's play-offs, the Heat stepped on the Bulls to enter the playoffs and finally completed the Black Eight all the way to the Finals, and now the Bulls' time for revenge has arrived.