Coby White has leveled up again?

[2weekswithpay]

Coby has caught fire after a mediocre first 50 games, but this is something we've seen before. This is just another one of his hot streaks, he'll eventually regress and return to being the same guy as before. A solid but unspectacular 6th man, that's all he is right?

A said this in the Giddey thread, fans confuse shooting variance with improvement. This doesn't mean a player hasn't improved when he's making shots. It's just that players have these great 10-20 game stretches that are largely carried by unsustainable shooting or shotmaking (Jalen Green). They eventually regress and fans are disappointed that they didn't make the leap. Coby did improve last season but the stretch of games that got fans excited was largely fueled by unsustainable shooting. In late November and early December Coby was shooting close to 50% from 3 on something like 10 3PAs per game.

First I'd like to state that Coby is an inconsistent shooter. I'm stating the obvious here but I think a visual representation would help. This is a graph of Coby's 2023 and 2024 seasons vs Simon's 2024 season and Curry's 2024 season. The Y-axis indicates how often a player shoots a certain percentage from 3. Curry is a freak but Simons was someone who felt comparable to Coby but he's way more consistent. Coby isn't a good enough shooter to rely on it as often as he does.

Spoiler:

Post ASB Coby is averaging 26/4/4 on 59% TS and he's only shooting 34% from 3. This stretch of play is largely because he's pressuring the rim and getting to the line. I think these are much better indicators of improvement than Coby's usual heaters.

Pre ASB - 3.3 shots in the restricted area per game. 1.7 shots in the paint per game.

Post ASB - 5 shots in the restricted area per game. 3.6 shots in the paint per game.

I don't think he's ever been this confident or aggressive at attacking slow defenders in space.

Spoiler:

I don't think he's ever been this physical with defenders either. The NBA favors offense and allows players to initiate contact. Our players never seem to make use of how the game is called.

Spoiler:

Now this is March basketball and it's well chaotic. A lot of unexpected players get hot and average ridiculous numbers (Quentin Grimes). It would've been preferable for Coby to play like this earlier but most of this looks sustainable. His 2pt% will go down but everything else looks fine.

[League Circles]

Coby is definitely improving. Nobody needs to believe that his current hot streak is the new him in order to come to that conclusion. Let's look at the season to date relative to his career averages and best career season:

Points/36:
This year: 21.7
Career average: 18.2
Career best season prior: 18.9 (last year)

Points/100:
This year: 28.1
Career average: 24.5
Career best season prior: 26.1 (last year)

Scoring efficiency (TS%):
This year: .590
Career average: .558
Career best season prior: .572 (22-23, he was at .570 last year)

[jump]

Coby looks like he’s added DeRosen moves to his repertoire, both in his moves for layups and for his stop short midrange game. I think the years with Demar really helped.

[League Circles]

Definitely not just a 6th man. He's a good starter now IMO. Above average starter. Which, for a healthy 25 year old, should be considered a clear keeper. Doesn't mean he can be a top 1 or 2 scoring option on a string contender, but he definitely looks capable of being a 3rd best scorer. I also think the rest of his game is underrated by Bulls fans. I think he's solid at creating for others, rebounding and I even think he's an acceptable defender.

[Hangtime84]

Most likely in the MIP running again.

[MrSparkle]

If he keeps this up until the season, call me impressed!

Been rooting/hoping/expecting/disappointed-by his development… but he’s 25 and has the ability to create 3Ps for himself like the best of them (Jamal Murray is still my best example). He’s had 3 seasons in a row with a 3-5 week run of all-star basketball. I agree this is his best tenure yet. Still- the problem always is that his floor sinks really low. Hoping this is not another case of that. It’s encouraging that each year, the peak seems better, though.

Just crazy to me his first 40 games were essentially worse than last year’s (I don’t love the role/Lavine, injury/ankle excuses).

[Jcool0]

Most likely in the MIP running again.

Odds to Win 2025 NBA Most Improved Player

Cade Cunningham Pistons -250

Dyson Daniels Hawks +125

Christian Braun Nuggets +6000

Tyler Herro Heat +6000

Evan Mobley Cavaliers +10000

[Jcool0]

Again? This would be the first time, if its sustainable. Which is why i would move him this off season for the right offer. We have over 400 games to say this wont last but even if it does its still in the Bulls best interest to move him at the height of his value.

[rosenthall]

I don't think "leveling up" is the right term because I really doubt this level of play is the new norm for him. Everyone knows Coby goes through good months and bad months.

I agree though we're seeing an improvement in his game that looks permanent, so his offensive efficiency should remain at a higher plateau moving forward. It's just that, big picture, this looks like an on-going evolutionary progression and not a step level change in his overall effectiveness.

One big positive I take away from this is that 6 years into his career, Coby is STILL making improvements to his game that are non-trivial. I think if you took any of Coby's last 4 offseasons, the improvement he made in any one of them is much more than what Pat's done in his entire career to date.

[NecessaryEvil]

He lost MIP due to league politics, I wonder how much that affected him to start the season or if it did at all.

What I do know is, this is the absolute best version of him and other teams announcers GUSH over him during the games.

He seems to be underrated by us more than anything else.

I don’t want to see Coby do this in another Jersey.

[sco]

I just want him to stay healthy. His prior hot streaks have usually ended because he was dealing with an injury or his role changed.

Just keep him healthy and don't muck with his role and let him cook.

[ShouldaPaidBG]

I don't think "leveling up" is the right term because I really doubt this level of play is the new norm for him. Everyone knows Coby goes through good months and bad months.

I agree though we're seeing an improvement in his game that looks permanent, so his offensive efficiency should remain at a higher plateau moving forward. It's just that, big picture, this looks like an on-going evolutionary progression and not a step level change in his overall effectiveness.

One big positive I take away from this is that 6 years into his career, Coby is STILL making improvements to his game that are non-trivial. I think if you took any of Coby's last 4 offseasons, the improvement he made in any one of them is much more than what Pat's done in his entire career to date.

It's not just about output but style and skill. He's gotten much better at getting past people and finishing at the rim. He's driving an order of magnitude more often.

Part of me wants to credit Giddey's persistence attacking the rim rubbing off on the other guys.

[NecessaryEvil]

I don't think "leveling up" is the right term because I really doubt this level of play is the new norm for him. Everyone knows Coby goes through good months and bad months.

I agree though we're seeing an improvement in his game that looks permanent, so his offensive efficiency should remain at a higher plateau moving forward. It's just that, big picture, this looks like an on-going evolutionary progression and not a step level change in his overall effectiveness.

One big positive I take away from this is that 6 years into his career, Coby is STILL making improvements to his game that are non-trivial. I think if you took any of Coby's last 4 offseasons, the improvement he made in any one of them is much more than what Pat's done in his entire career to date.

It's not just about output but style and skill. He's gotten much better at getting past people and finishing at the rim. He's driving an order of magnitude more often.

Part of me wants to credit Giddey's persistence attacking the rim rubbing off on the other guys.

Dalen Terry is definitely benefiting, that’s for sure.

[Hangtime84]

I just want him to stay healthy. His prior hot streaks have usually ended because he was dealing with an injury or his role changed.

Just keep him healthy and don't muck with his role and let him cook.

He isn’t healthy right now he is dealing with ankle injury

[RSP83]

I think so. He's been attacking the rim, shooting mid-range, and getting to the line. All this while not shooting too well from 3. This is new, even compared to his hot stretch last year. He's not going to average 28 points per game, but he's now a legit reliable bucket getter for this team.

[2weekswithpay]

Again? This would be the first time, if its sustainable. Which is why i would move him this off season for the right offer. We have over 400 games to say this wont last but even if it does its still in the Bulls best interest to move him at the height of his value.

This was the thread name the last time Coby broke out?

[2weekswithpay]

I don't think "leveling up" is the right term because I really doubt this level of play is the new norm for him. Everyone knows Coby goes through good months and bad months.

I agree though we're seeing an improvement in his game that looks permanent, so his offensive efficiency should remain at a higher plateau moving forward. It's just that, big picture, this looks like an on-going evolutionary progression and not a step level change in his overall effectiveness.

One big positive I take away from this is that 6 years into his career, Coby is STILL making improvements to his game that are non-trivial. I think if you took any of Coby's last 4 offseasons, the improvement he made in any one of them is much more than what Pat's done in his entire career to date.

It's not just about output but style and skill. He's gotten much better at getting past people and finishing at the rim. He's driving an order of magnitude more often.

Part of me wants to credit Giddey's persistence attacking the rim rubbing off on the other guys.

Not sure I'd agree with this since his shots in the paint are down his year and according to the NBA tracking stats his drives this season are lower than last season as well.

[ShouldaPaidBG]

It's not just about output but style and skill. He's gotten much better at getting past people and finishing at the rim. He's driving an order of magnitude more often.

Part of me wants to credit Giddey's persistence attacking the rim rubbing off on the other guys.

Not sure I'd agree with this since his shots in the paint are down his year and according to the NBA tracking stats his drives this season are lower than last season as well.

Since the trade deadline

[Guru]

Coby has certainly complicated things. A go of Coby-Buzy and Giddey is worth it.

[Dez]

No, Coby is streaky.

This isn't a new Coby, it's part of his repertoire and he'll mix in a cold streak where he's useless pretty soon.