In the first round of the play-offs, the Bulls eliminated the Hawks 131-116.
In this game, Koby White played probably the strongest performance of his career, playing 43 minutes, shooting 15-of-21, 3-of-7 three-pointers, 9-of-10 free throws, and scoring 42 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals.
The 42 points were the second-highest in playoff history (Tatum's highest score was 50), and it was also the highest score of Kobe White's career, which came a month ago, when White was 14-of-19 from the field against the Kings in the regular season, scoring 37 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists.
However, because it is a play-off game, this 42 points will not be recorded in his career regular season or playoffs, to which White laughed and said: "I don't care, the stats are there anyway." ”
It is worth mentioning that White did not have a single turnover in this game, which also made him comparable to Jordan and became the second player in the history of the Bulls to score 40 points + 5 rebounds + 5 assists + 0 turnovers in a single game.
Although the data is somewhat customized, since Jordan's second retirement, there have been many stars in the history of the Bulls, including Pippen, Kukoc, Ben Gordon, Rose, LaVine, DeRozan, none of these players have done the above, which can show how explosive Koby White is in this game.
Zooming in on the season as a whole, White's performance was also a surprise within a surprise.
Throughout the regular season, White played in a total of 79 games, averaging 19.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game, all three of which were career highs, while shooting 44.7%/37.6%/83.8% and 57.0% true shooting percentage.
For comparison, last season's White: played in a total of 74 games, 72 off the bench, averaged 9.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game, shooting 44.3%/37.2%/87.1% from three, and 57.2% from the field.
Last season, White was just a substitute, averaging only 23.4 minutes per game, and this season his positioning has changed dramatically, from a stable bench to a stable starter, and the average playing time has also increased to 36.5 minutes per game, while the round possession rate has increased from 17.0% to 22.4%, and the scoring, rebounding, and assists have all increased in breakthroughs.
While scoring efficiency hasn't changed, White is now a mid-class ball-handler who is good enough to be the second on a team on the fringes of the playoffs.
White's outburst was partly due to his personal growth and finding a way to play his own style, but also thanks to LaVine's injury.
Before LaVine's injury, White played 19 games and averaged only 13.7 points per game, but after LaVine's injury, White shared a lot of offensive pressure and increased his scoring average to 20.8 points per game;
In addition to playing a career high of 37 points against the Kings, White also scored 35 points, 7 rebounds and 9 assists against the Hornets, and in some games, his performance was even better than DeRozan.
If you zoom in on White's career, his experience is also quite interesting.
As a "top student" of the prestigious North Carolina school and the seventh pick in the first round of the class of 2019, White was highly anticipated when he entered the league, and the Bulls also trained him seriously for two years, but unfortunately he was very inefficient in these two years and did not adapt to the NBA intensity at all.
The end of the second year became a turning point, DeRozan and Brother Ball arrived, White's status declined rapidly, and then Brother Ball was injured, but his role remained unchanged.
It can also be seen from the scoring that White's average points per game in the first four years of his career were: 13.2 points, 15.1 points, 12.7 points, and 9.7 points.
The average time per game can also be reflected, and the playing time in the first four years of White's career: 25.8 minutes, 31.2 minutes, 27.5 minutes, and 23.4 minutes.
Due to his poor performance last season, White ended up signing a three-year, $36 million contract with the Bulls, and at the time, many fans thought that such a contract was too big.
This season has been another career turning point for White, who has successfully seized the opportunity of LaVine's injury and completely exploded, and his huge improvement has also put him in the discussion of the most improved player, and his main opponents are Maxey of the 76ers and Jalen Williams of the Thunder.
If this play-off game can be included in the selection of the most improved player, then there is no doubt that White's probability of winning the award will continue to increase, but unfortunately, the most improved player has already completed the vote before the play-off starts, which means that Koby White's career night will not bring him any extra points.
Of course, such highlights at least helped the Bulls advance to the second round of the play-offs, and their opponent will be the Miami Heat, and it needs to be said that the Bulls also reached the second round of the play-offs last season, and it was the Heat who eliminated them at that time.
Unlike last year, Butler was unavailable due to injury, and Rozier, another main player of the Heat, was also unavailable, so the Bulls probably got the best chance of qualifying.
For White, if he can help the Bulls make the playoffs and continue to play highlight, it may play a bigger role in his career, because DeRozan will become a free agent in the offseason, if DeRozan leaves and the Bulls are determined to send LaVine away to rebuild, White may have a chance to become a big man and be selected as an All-Star when the time comes?