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The breakout season of Coby White has hit a rough patch as the rising Chicago Bulls star has missed his last 15 three-point attempts. Whereas the White of old would have been rendered useless in these situations, he has shown resilience and continued to impact the game in other ways. Bulls coach Billy Donovan recently praised White for his ability to contribute in other aspects of the game despite his shooting struggles.

Impacts the game in other ways

Early in his career, White was known to be a scoring guard and not much else. It wasn’t until his fourth season that he began to put all his skills and experience together, showing substantial improvements in his shot selection, defense, and playmaking.

After going through a white-hot stretch wherein he made at least three triples in 14 straight games, White has struggled to find the mark in the Bulls’ last two games. However, Donovan noted that White was still effective despite his shooting woes.

“I give him an enormous amount of credit,” Donovan said.

“Even though Coby didn’t shoot it great, he got to the rim, had a couple layups, missed some shots but gave Andre (Drummond) the opportunity to offensive rebound, made a big shot along the baseline late in the game. He does other things to impact the game,” Donovan added.

A more complete player

Donovan added that White is a proven winner, but to win at the NBA level, he needs to continue developing and improving on all aspects of his game. This includes being a playmaker for others, making the right decisions, and playing solid defense.

“Winning is important to him, and so is being a complete player. He has worked hard on those things. He’s getting to a place where he knows, ‘Yeah, I want to make shots. And it bothers me if I don’t make shots. But I can still have an impact in the game if I’m not.’ He’s really evolved on different levels,” Donovan continued.