BOSTON – Monday wasn’t it for Coby White.
His first game back from yet another calf setback and a dismal 2-of-7 shooting night against Boston while trying to deal with minutes restrictions hanging over his head, obviously wasn’t ideal for the Bulls guard.
“It’s pretty tough being in and out of the lineup, knowing you can only play a certain amount of minutes throughout the entire night,” White said after the 115-101 loss. “It gets tough when you’re out there and you look up, ‘Damn, I only got like two minutes left and I know I’m coming out.’ “
But don’t mistake that as a blow to his confidence.
Sure, the Bulls (17-19) are on a two-game losing streak and the trade deadline is bearing down on them in less than a month, with White trade rumors heating up, but he remains the ultimate optimist.
“I’m trying to figure it out,” White said. “I’ll figure it out.”
When asked why he believes that to be true, he didn’t hesitate, “Cause I always do. My kind of resume speaks for itself, I always figure it out.”
Will that still be as a member of the Bulls? Time will tell, but at least White and his teammates made sure there was very little suspense as far as playing the Celtics.
Even with coach Billy Donovan stressing in the pregame the dangers of letting Boston get comfortable from long range and their ability to attack the offensive glass, he watched his players promptly pull up a recliner for the Celtics shooters, mix them an adult beverage, and tuck a pillow gently under their heads. And that was just in the first quarter.
After a slow start from both teams in that opening stanza, it was just a 14-11 Boston lead more than six minutes in. Then the Celtics (23-12) stepped on the gas pedal.
Over the final five minutes of the quarter, Boston went on a 17-3 run, while three Bulls starters finished the first scoreless. The offensive ineptitude was just getting started, as Boston’s defense again handcuffed the visiting team in the second, keeping them under 20 points yet again, 23-19.
From that point on it became a three-point contest, and one the Bulls weren’t equipped to win. The Celtics are definitely handcuffed without the likes of injured star Jayson Tatum, but as Monday proved, a handcuffed Boston roster is still much more dangerous than anything the Bulls have – healthy or not.
“When you lose great players it’s always going to impact your team, but they’ve had very good personnel,” Donovan said of the Celtics without Tatum (Achilles injury). “I was very surprised at the beginning of the year where a lot of people had them picked (lower in the standings). They have a really high-level IQ team, a good shooting team. When you have a big-time scorer that goes out like that it doesn’t necessarily fall on just one guy. Everybody kind of shares in that so to speak.”
The Bulls finally decided to at least try and test that IQ in the final minutes, as Matas Buzelis, who finished with 26 points, hit a three-pointer from the corner that brought his team to within 11 with 4:14 left. After a Neemias Queta dunk, Nikola Vucevic answered with another three, but so did Boston’s Derrick White.
Queta all but put the game on ice with 1:28 left, scoring on the layup and getting a trip to the free throw line because of a Buzelis foul. He completed the three-point play, leaving Donovan no choice but to clear the bench down 14.
When the final horn sounded the Bulls went 16-of-46 (35%) from three-point range, while high-volume Boston went 20-of-52 (38%) and beat them 20-6 in offensive rebounds.