Getty Coby White handles the ball in a February 3 matchup against the New York Knicks.
The Chicago Bulls will face the Phoenix Suns on Friday night as they look to win their fourth-straight game, and sixth out of seven. The biggest obstacle will be containing the opposing backcourt and guard rotation.
Phoenix is rolling out two of this year’s Western Conference All-Stars in Devin Booker and Chris Paul. While Zach LaVine will be tasked with the former, it’ll be up to second-year point guard Coby White to handle his future Hall of Fame teammate.
He spoke to the media about his relationship with Paul on Friday morning:
Coby White on his relationship with Chris Paul: “We’re still pretty close. That’s still big bro. That’s family.”
On the court, though? “All that dwindles away. We both got one goal when we go out there, and that’s to help our team win.”
White sounds prepared to face someone he’s admittedly got a close relationship with off the floor. And that doesn’t come purely from a place of competitiveness. The 21-year old is having a stellar sophomore campaign.
Chicago’s starting point guard is averaging 15.7 points, 5.2 assists, and 5 rebounds per game while putting up a 42/35/87 shooting split. He’s played in each of the Bulls’ 31 games thus far.
On the other side of the floor, Paul is following up his renaissance season with the Oklahoma City Thunder last year (under now-Chicago head coach Billy Donovan) with another strong campaign.
He’s averaging 16.7 points, 8.6 assists, 4 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game behind an efficient 48/39/96 shooting split of his own.
The Chicago Bulls’ defense has been offputting on a number of occasions this season, particularly in late-game situations.
In their last win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, a foul from White resulted in three game-tying free throws from Ricky Rubio, sending the game into overtime.
Friday night’s matchup with Chris Paul and the Phoenix Suns will make for a good measuring stick and litmus test for just how much farther they have to go on that end of the basketball.