, was like, ‘Man, this game is a track meet.’ I said, ‘You have no idea.’ So, I knew from the jump that it was going to be one of those games.”
After injuring his right calf in late August, White missed all the late-summer scrimmages, training camp, the preseason and a handful of regular-season games. Even when he returned, it was on a minutes restriction, then he had to sit again with a strained left calf.
A Coach’s Perspective: Billy Donovan
For coach Billy Donovan, this is about more than just individual performance; it’s about the team’s overall conditioning and rhythm. “As fast as the league is playing and as we’ve tried to play,” Donovan said, “I do think he has to catch up physically to get in better shape. I do think the conditioning part, the timing, and the rhythm, he’s got to get back. The more he plays consistently and we don’t have the situations where he’s been in and out, if he can—knock on wood—stay healthy, I think his stamina and endurance will come back.”
White himself admitted that he’s at about 80%. “This is one of those games that helped me, for sure, in terms of my conditioning,” White said. “We’re, like, the two fastest teams in the NBA, so I was tired.” He also had to be feeling a bit stressed. As well as the Bulls played offensively, they missed key free throws down the stretch to give the Hawks life.
A Battle of Wills: The Final Stretch
After Jalen Johnson made a three-pointer with 5.9 seconds left to cut the lead to one, Matas Buzelis, who had a team-high 27 points, went to the foul line. He split the free throws, however, to give the Hawks one more chance with 4.2 seconds left. Atlanta’s Trae Young tried to draw the foul on a 16-footer but missed the basket and didn’t get a call.
The Bulls had nine players in double figures and 41 assists. And White had a workout that he needed. “I’m still trying to get it back,” White said. “I’ve never not had a training camp and preseason, so my agents kind of warned me about it. ‘It’s different because everybody else is way ahead of you conditioning-wise.'” The victory was hard-fought, but the Bulls are hoping that as Coby White continues to build his rhythm, he will become an even more formidable player for the franchise.
