There is clarity on a Coby White return. There’s just not a specific date.
What the Bulls did learn on Monday, however, was that White (right calf strain) could go through an entire practice – even if it was with the G League Windy City Bulls – and if there are no setbacks, they could have the guard back at some point on the upcoming West Coast trip.
White is yet to make his season debut this year.
“Everything that I heard was that it went well,” coach Billy Donovan said of White’s afternoon. “I think the biggest thing is always trying to find out the next day how it went. The plan right now is I heard everything went well, would get back into practice with us when we get back from Detroit – we’ll have three days. One of those days we’ll certainly have contact. The plan is to get him into that practice pretty extensively.”
Considering Donovan was without Josh Giddey (right ankle) for the Spurs game, the sooner on a White return, the better.
After all, another 20-point scorer in the lineup couldn’t be a bad thing.
“To his credit I think he’s kept himself in pretty good shape, and in particular with his weight,” Donovan said of White. “I think he’s at a good weight for himself, considering he hasn’t played in too many games. He’s done a good job taking care of himself, so right now everything seems to be progressing in the right direction.”
If White gets through the full-contact practice this weekend, and does so against the big boy roster, Donovan will have a better idea on a return plan when the team leaves for Utah.
As for Giddey, his absence shouldn’t be a long one. He injured the right ankle in the loss to the Cavaliers and wasn’t expected to miss much time.
“I don’t think it’s anything too severe with his ankle, but I think with what we’ve got coming and then Detroit, and then there’s a few days off, I just think he didn’t feel great,” Donovan said. “We’ll see how he feels going to Detroit.”
Speaking of …
The Giddey injury, courtesy of the De’Andre Hunter crossover seen around the NBA universe, was not the guard’s finest moment, especially with how viral it’s become on social media.
The one person oblivious to all of that? Donovan. The coach doesn’t have social media and doesn’t even know where to find a meme on the play.
“I didn’t necessarily focus on what happened,” Donovan said of the crossover. “I saw (Giddey) go down and the way he grabbed his ankle. I wasn’t really paying attention to the shot and Cleveland. I just didn’t know how severe it was.”
When a media member joked with Donovan about being surprised that he even knew what a meme was, Donovan laughed and admitted he really didn’t and was “just repeating what” he was asked.
French connection
White wasn’t the only Bulls player to get a practice in with Windy City. Rookie Noa Essengue also spent the afternoon getting some court time in.
“It was good,” Essengue said. “It’s something where you got a lot of reps just so you can get better. You get back with some of the guys you were with in Summer League, so it’s good.”
Essengue entered Monday’s game with the Spurs yet to play a single minute in an NBA regular-season game.