Explosive offense for Chicago Bulls in opening-night loss; 3 takeaways

2. Coby White is going to be a major factor this season

The general thought among Chicago Bulls fans was that rookie Coby White, the seventh overall selection in June’s NBA Draft, might be brought along slowly. After all, Chicago had just acquired Tomas Satoransky and still had Kris Dunn on the roster. There wasn’t any real need to push White to receive major minutes early.

Except that’s not exactly what took place in Charlotte Wednesday night. The exciting 6’5″ lead guard was the first guard off the bench, before Dunn, in the first quarter.

He’s lightning-quick and loves to push the ball in transition. White dispelled the notion that he’s not a quality playmaker, dishing seven assists while knocking down six of 13 shots from the field and proving he won’t be shy about taking big shots in key moments.

White repeatedly attacked the defense, as five of his six made field goals were at the rim. His bulldog mentality led to him getting to the free-throw line, going 4-of-5 from the charity stripe.

The rookie from North Carolina showed on opening night that he has no plans to serve this season as some sort of apprenticeship. While his rookie campaign may include some growing pains, he showed on night No. 1 that he’s not afraid to carry a big load right away. The rest of the league has been put on notice.