CHICAGO — No one has ever been able to truly answer the question: “If a tree falls in an empty forest, does it make a sound?”
But Wednesday night, we found the answer to the NBA’s version of that famous thought experiment: If you score a career high in the Play-In Tournament, does it count as a career high?
“Hell yeah, it counts,” Chicago Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan said, almost offended by the question.
Coby White agrees. After all, he’s the one who dropped a smooth 42 points on the Atlanta Hawks in a 131-116 victory at the United Center to advance the Bulls to their second Play-In game.
Coby White’s 42 points vs. ATL are the second-most in NBA play-in history. pic.twitter.com/tz3RvzOijY
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) April 18, 2024
“I’m definitely counting it as my career high,” said White, who previously scored a career-high 37 points in a game this season. “It’s in the stat sheet right here.”
I’m with them. If you want to live by the NBA’s Draconian rules, be my guest. But me, White and DeRozan, we live by our own truths. And we all saw White score 42. Now, if you want to say it doesn’t count because of Atlanta’s defense, we can argue it.
But what is inarguable is that time and time again, in a do-or-die game, White put the Bulls on his back and carried them downhill into the paint. He went 15-for-21 from the field, and four of those misses were from 3-point range. He also hit 9 of 10 free throws, grabbed nine rebounds and added six assists with zero turnovers in 43 minutes, 18 seconds of action.
“I know number 42 is a huge number, and it’s phenomenal, but I thought he played a complete game,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said.
White and Ayo Dosunmu (19 points on 8-of-12 shooting) led the charge from the backcourt, and DeRozan and Nikola Vučević combined for 46 points. Atlanta kept it close thanks to a 45-point second quarter, but the Bulls weren’t going to be denied. They looked formidable, like a real playoff team.
Though the Play-In Tournament exists only in its own unique context, it sure felt like a real playoff game on Wednesday.
The main concourse was almost empty when the introductions began as fans were waving their free towels and screaming their heads off. By the game’s end, they were chanting, “Co-by! Co-by! Co-by!” and “M-V-P!” like they were Los Angeles Lakers fans 20 years ago.
COBY FROM GENEVA.@CobyWhite | #SeeRed pic.twitter.com/Ykhke3cl5c
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) April 18, 2024
“It was a dope feeling, it was a dope moment, for that to happen,” White said. “I’m thankful for it. I’m thankful for the fans. It felt like a playoff vibe. The place was rocking tonight.”
And given that Jimmy Butler might have a fairly serious knee injury, White has a much better shot of playing in a playoff game that counts at the United Center this season.
If the Bulls (who could be missing Alex Caruso with a foot/ankle injury) can beat the Miami Heat in a Play-In rematch on Friday, they will be the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, which will begin in Boston on Sunday.
In last year’s Play-In finale in Miami, former Bulls G-Leaguer (and local guy) Max Strus torched the Bulls early, and after they came back, it was their old friend Jimmy Buckets who carried the Heat to the finish line. The Bulls then got to watch Miami make a run to the NBA Finals. Strus is with the Cleveland Cavaliers now, and I’d be surprised if Butler suits up Friday, but the Bulls still want payback.
“I remember that plane ride back home vividly,” DeRozan said. “Everybody was just frustrated. That feeling sucked.”
Despite some top-level talent, the Bulls have been a frustrating sub-.500 team for the past two seasons, and really since Lonzo Ball went down in January 2022. They got to the playoffs that spring but were an easy out against the Milwaukee Bucks. If they beat Miami on Friday, they get the 64-win Boston Celtics in the first round.
Two wins in the Play-In Tournament and a quick exit in the first round won’t change the trajectory of this franchise or anyone’s mind about the unimpressive job Artūras Karnišovas and his front office have done adjusting their roster over the past few years. But the only thing the Bulls players should care about is the present.
And that’s why White’s 42 is more important than any regular-season game, because it helped the Bulls keep their season going. All the drama surrounding this team melted away when White was driving into the lane.
“He led us tonight,” said the sage veteran DeRozan, who scored 22 points and added nine assists.
White’s ascendance has been the story of the Bulls’ season. Chicago started 5-14, looking as laughably bad as Jerry Reinsdorf’s baseball team does right now. But when Zach LaVine went out early with an injury, it was White who stepped up. And all of a sudden, the Bulls started clicking.
LaVine played only 25 games in a season that at one point was dominated by talk of his wanting to be traded. He’s talented, no doubt, but no one is begging him to stay, that’s for sure.
The future of Chicago is White, who is just 24. And he should have plenty of opportunities to score more than 42 points in games the NBA deems officially official.
Wednesday night, White showed he’s for real. And that’s what really counts.
(Photo: Jamie Sabau / Getty Images)
