Copyright Chicago Tribune
Coby White’s patience is running out. It has been nearly three months since the Chicago Bulls guard suffered a mild calf strain during an offseason training session. At the time, he expected to be available for the start of the season. The Bulls weren’t worried about White stressing his Achilles, which passed tendon scanning without any concern throughout the recovery process. But the injury has lingered stubbornly — first for weeks, then months. So, yes, White is restless. And probably a little bored. He’s trying to find ways to amuse himself — after games, for instance, he’ll snag a walkie-talkie set from the Bulls PR team off the scorer’s desk, trying and failing to coordinate a walk-off interview with the player of the game. (The PR staff refuses to teach White how to operate any of this equipment, a fact he loudly lamented after practice Thursday at the Advocate Center.) But mostly White is focused on doing whatever he can to get back onto the court. For the last two weeks, he has been running — “a lot,” he emphasized — to build as much tolerance as possible in his calf after an extended reevaluation period caused him to miss the first two weeks of the season. “For me most of the time, if I’m hurt, I’m big on, ‘All right, I’ll do this, I’ll do this, check this box, check that box and I’ll be back on this date,’” White said. “With this one, it’s more so like you’ve got to build strength, you’ve got to be cognizant of how you feel on the court at all times.” White said he might have practiced too long in his first full training session back with the Bulls on Oct. 18, which resulted in discomfort the next day. He didn’t re-strain the calf at the time, but the tightness that followed that initial practice forced the medical team to add two weeks to his already lengthy recovery timeline. As White enters what he hopes will be the final week of his recovery, he’s ready to get going — and to catch back up with the Bulls, who are riding the high of a 6-1 start to the season. White expects to return to practice next week during the break between Wednesday’s road game against the Detroit Pistons and a Nov. 16-19 trip to Utah, Denver and Portland. He has begun scrimmaging two-on-two and three-on-three with a mixture of teammates and player development staff. The Bulls haven’t set a target date for White’s return, but he has been told the western trip could be the week to make his season debut — if all goes according to plan. “I’m very excited to get back obviously,” White said. “The way the team is playing — they’re playing for each other, and it’s exciting for me. But you’ve still got to stay patient at the same time. You don’t want to rush anything. The team’s doing really well, so I’m excited to get back.” The Bulls have soared through the opening stretch by playing complete basketball. They boast the eighth-best offensive rating (117.2) and 11th-best defensive rating (112.5) in the NBA. But while Josh Giddey and Nikola Vučević have been able to hold down scoring in White’s absence, the Bulls have missed his 20.4 points per game last season — and even more important, his 2.9 makes per game from behind the 3-point arc. Sure, this team is in a groove. But White brushed off any concerns about his reintegration to the roster disrupting the current style of play. “I think the way I play fits perfectly with the way that we play,” White said. “I’m not a ball stopper, I don’t hold the ball, I just play to win. I don’t see no problem or anything like that when it comes to me getting back to it.” The Bulls entered this season with a clear focus on highlighting the talents of Giddey, who re-signed in restricted free agency on a four-year, $100 million deal. But the up-tempo, pass-heavy, balanced style they first installed last season also embraces White’s strengths as an off-ball guard who can drive downhill and hit 3-pointers with equal comfort. To White, the team’s early wins reflect the synergy between its personnel and style of play, something the Bulls clearly missed in prior seasons. “That’s no knock on the guys that were here in the past,” White said. “Deebo (DeMar DeRozan) is a Hall of Famer. Zach (LaVine) is probably the most talented player I’ve ever been around. “But I feel like Coach (Billy Donovan) does a good job of adapting to the personnel and putting in a system that works for who he has on the team. And that’s what he’s been doing.” White acknowledged that no one around the league — including the reporters assembled after practice — predicted the Bulls would win six of their first seven games to seize the top spot in the Eastern Conference. But he doesn’t think this is a fluke. To White, last season’s growing pains were simply a symptom of a greater transformation. The Bulls needed time to learn their new offensive system, time to develop young talent enough to make a true impact. Now he feels the Bulls are benefiting from investment that began at the start of last season. “Like every other thing in life, it’s going to take time, right?” White said. “You can’t flip a switch. Building a culture takes time. Building the way you want to play takes time. Building an identity takes time. “The past couple of years, we’ve been working toward this. This year, it’s starting to come into fruition on the court. This didn’t happen overnight.”
