It took a while before Coby White made his Charlotte Hornets debut, and he immediately showed why they need him. Before they broke the game open against the Chicago Bulls in the third quarter, which is becoming a regular occurrence, White helped keep the Hornets afloat, especially when LaMelo Ball got into early trouble.
The first half of the Hornets-Bulls showdown featured a neck-and-neck battle, with the Bulls racing to a 45-36 lead in the second quarter. Charles Lee called a timeout and subbed Ball, who logged two fouls six minutes into the opening stanza, and White in. The guards then scored or assisted on 11 of Charlotte's next 13 points. That stretch also saw the pair set up one another for a 3-pointer each.
The Hornets entered halftime ahead 56-55, and White was instrumental in their taking the lead. He finished with eight points, three assists, and a team-high +11 in his first two quarters wearing the purple and teal.
Steadying the ship
Interestingly, Charlotte took care of business against the Bulls while White was on the bench. It dominated the third period, outscoring its opponent 42-16, which included a 17-0 run. The Hornets' vaunted starting lineup proved once more why there is plenty of optimism that the squad can make a successful playoff push in April. However, without White's heroics against his former employer before the break, they would have been playing catch-up coming out of the intermission instead of building on their lead.
White ended up not having to play that much anymore, which is actually perfect because the Tuesday tiff marked his first appearance since the trade deadline due to a calf strain. Still, the contest gave us a glimpse of how valuable he will be in Charlotte.
Even when Ball is on the bench, the team will still have a playmaker on the floor who can score at will if he has to. It seems Lee is also willing to play the newcomer and Ball together for extended minutes. That would relieve the star of some ball-handling duties and allow him to play off the ball, which he has displayed the potential to excel at.
It would be interesting to see how much better White can flourish on the Hornets in the following weeks. He didn't have that much opportunity in the Hornets' 131-99 drubbing of Chicago, given that the victory was already at hand in the third quarter. Not that fans are complaining, of course.