Four Things With Frank: Coby White’s Breakout, Desmond Bane In Transition And More

Key Highlights

• Coby White is averaging 23.3 points (70.1 percent true shooting), 4.9 assists and 4.6 rebounds over his last 11 games
• Desmond Bane generates 1.29 points per possession in transition on 4.6 attempts per game
• The Oklahoma City Thunder are 19.5 points better per 100 possessions without Josh Giddey on the court
• The Portland Trail Blazers’ defensive turnover rate is two percentage points better when Jabari Walker is on the floor, which ranks in the 85th percentile, according to Cleaning the Glass

Welcome to the third installment of “Four Things With Frank.” This week focuses on a young guard coming into his own, a sharpshooter’s open floor dominance, a Western Conference contender facing a dilemma, and the emergence of a potentially high-level role player for a rebuilding squad.

Let’s get to it.

Coby White Is Playing Like The Chicago Bulls’ Present And Future

Coby White’s tenure in Chicago has been a bumpy experience defined by explosive shooting, mercurial decision-making, defensive learning curves and consistently inconsistent flashes of promise. Last year, however, felt like a critical step forward in his career as he aimed to establish reliable NBA footing. White shot 37.2 percent beyond the arc and 54.0 percent on two-pointers, while accomplishing significant strides defensively.

To open 2023-24, the jittery guard couldn’t find the bottom of the hoop. Through his first 14 games, he averaged 11.6 points on a .380/.309/.773 slash line (48.3 percent true shooting). Since then, the former UNC Tar Heel has become an inextinguishable flame, averaging 23.3 points, 4.9 assists and 4.6 rebounds over the past 11 outings. He’s burying 52.9 percent of his 9.3 nightly threes, shooting 51.2 percent from the floor and posting a nifty 70.1 percent true shooting clip over this span.

On the year, he’s tallying 16.7 points and 4.5 assists (1.9 turnovers), and canning 43.2 percent of his triples. His 59.7 percent true shooting is a career-best two points above the NBA average (57.7). Chicago is 10.5 points better per 100 possessions with him on the court — including 11.7 points better offensively — according to Cleaning the Glass. He holds the Bulls’ franchise record with 12 consecutive games of at least three made threes, a streak that’s ongoing. Only two players — Stephen Curry (106) and Luka Doncic (86) — have converted more long balls than his 79.

He’s drilling spot-up chances (43.1 percent, 56-of-130) and his off-the-bounce adventures (43.8 percent, 21-of-48). Few around the league are rivaling his blend of volume and efficiency. White hits a variety of looks: pull-ups off of ball-screens, deep catch-and-shoots — an area he said he’s prioritized improving — well-contested opportunities and quick-trigger hoists. Watching his high-arcing bombs rip through the net, treating the rim as superfluous decoration, is a spectacle.

His torrid shooting run has magnified the spotlight on other offensive improvements. His decision-making and composure have grown tremendously over the past couple seasons. If he’s run off the line, he’s a playmaking threat, particularly on the interior. His change of pace, timing and vision are the best they’ve ever been in his career. He slings live dribble feeds with either hand and opens up angles with deceptive pacing.

The Bulls and White agreed to a three-year, $40 million deal this past summer. The way he’s played the first couple months make that look like a massive underpay. He was tabbed him as their starting point guard to begin the season and he’s rewarded that decision, proving to be both a dynamite shooter and trusty facilitator for a team needing jolts in both departments. Still only 23 years old, he may now be integral to this franchise’s murky future.

Desmond Bane, The Transition Tank

With Ja Morant at the helm the past four seasons, the Memphis Grizzlies have been one of the league’s most prolific fast-break clubs, ranking among the top three in transition frequency every year, including No. 1 in 2021-22 and 2022-23. His explosiveness, trapeze artist acrobatics and slippery playmaking render him an imposing downhill force, daring defenders to wrangle with him in space. But he is not the lone driving force behind Memphis’ attack.

His backcourt mate, Desmond Bane, is an incessant threat in the open floor and he’s taken the reins during Morant’s 25-game suspension to kickstart 2023-24. Whereas Morant’s dexterous handle and high-flying burst power his exploits, Bane is different. The ball isn’t so much an extension of his body as it is akin to him pushing around a shopping cart. He always has control, yet it doesn’t appear tethered to him like it does Morant.

Bane weaponizes his credentials as a three-level scorer, constantly veering directions and altering the tempo in the open floor. His change of direction and pace are swift and devastating. He wields his sturdy 215-pound frame to keep defenders locked on his hip  or to create room for jumpers.

Despite lacking top-tier burst and handle, he whizzes down the hardwood and can stop on a dime. He’s a boulder of a blur at times. If the ball ends up in his clutches and he sees a crease, he’s going to push and send the defense onto its heels (also: note how many of those possessions stem from him forcing a takeaway; his off-ball defense has been mighty impressive this year).

The fourth-year sniper is producing 1.29 points per possession in transition, which ranks in the 80th percentile. Beset by injuries and absences, Memphis is 13th in the West at 6-16. Bane, though, is thriving, slapping down 24.8 points (58.9 percent true shooting), 5.3 assists (2.9 turnovers), 4.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals. Given the lack of spacing, secondary ball-handling and big man depth, he should be squarely in the All-Star conversation for his efforts, partly because of his mesmerizing transition prowess.

Are The Oklahoma City Thunder At A Crossroads With Their Starting Five?

Through 22 games, the Thunder are off to a roaring start. They’re 15-7, second in the West and rank third in net rating (plus-8.3) behind a pair of Eastern Conference foes (Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers). And yet, they are being outscored by 0.7 points per 100 possessions when their starting quintet of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Luguentz Dort, Josh Giddey and Chet Holmgren shares the court.

Logging 497 possessions, it’s by far their most common lineup, well ahead of second place with 59 possessions. The glaring problem in this group is Giddey, whose offensive foibles and lack of defensive verve are incongruent fits. He is not an adept slasher or shooter and does not stamp his mark defensively. He’s shooting 32.1 percent from deep and 44.4 percent on two-pointers.

With most of the offensive touches allocated toward Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams and Holmgren, Giddey’s poor off-ball game has emerged as an issue. In his first two years, he assumed grander on-ball duties and his virtuoso passing was easier to amplify. That’s no longer the case, and it’s muddied his impact.

The Thunder rarely seem to close with him in tight games anymore. Last week, in a 110-101 loss, the Houston Rockets elected to stash Alperen Şengün on Giddey and deploy him as a roamer to clog lanes inside. All night, Giddey was hesitant as a driver and shooter. He hardly glanced toward the hoop. Oklahoma City’s spacing was crunched and it posted its fourth-worst offensive rating of the season (103.1).

Here's 2:11 minutes of the Rockets completely ignoring josh Giddey on defense and attacking him mercilessly on offense: pic.twitter.com/YPZMxo7Vxl

— Itamar (@Itamar_17_10) December 7, 2023

The Thunder don’t necessarily need to rush into win-now moves, but Giddey’s presence in the starting lineup and as someone playing 26 minutes per night feel like obvious hindrances to their ceiling. Any playoff opponent rostering a 4-man to battle with Holmgren (plenty of them do) can employ this strategy and bog down the offense. While he has grown offensively since entering the NBA, it is not to the requisite level to fit in snugly alongside Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams, Dort and Holmgren — all of whom are ready to make serious postseason noise.

His offensive arsenal needs a forgiving developmental context to let him keep exploring on and off the ball. Oklahoma City is not that. Gilgeous-Alexander is an MVP-caliber creator. Williams is a burgeoning, premier secondary creator. Holmgren is a masterful ancillary option as a rookie.

Logical replacements for Giddey exist internally (Cason Wallace, Isaiah Joe, Aaron Wiggins). They all space the floor better and add more defensive juice. Replacements may, and probably do, exist externally as well. The Thunder are loaded with draft capital and enticing young players. If they pursue a a splash — big, small or intermediate — between now and they deadline, they have the means to achieve it.

Oklahoma City is a good team. It might already be a really good team. It could be a great team. None of that means much, though, until it solves this dilemma.

Jabari Walker Demands Your Attention

The Blazers are a funky bunch. They’re filled with lively wings, apply a ton of pressure on the ball, get their paws on everything (fourth in deflections per game) and sit 10th in half-court defensive rating (95.7 points allowed per 100 possessions).

Among that funky bunch is second-year forward Jabari Walker. Selected 57th overall in 2022, Walker is laying the foundation as a connective role player vital to any winning environment. He’s not yet tied it all together. He’s shooting 26.7 percent from three (27.7 percent for his career) and is not a dominant finisher or driver to offset outside shooting woes.

Rectifying one or both areas is paramount for his development. In the meantime, his blend of versatile defense, ball-handling comfort and on-the-move passing continually pop.

Walker is staggeringly light on his feet for a 6-foot-9, 215-pound big man. Portland switches up and down its positional depth, and he repeatedly thrives in these scenarios. He’s nimble, gangly and always bouncing on his toes as if he’s readying for a jump ball. There aren’t that many 4s who move like him on the perimeter.

He’s also willing to mix it up inside, battling against bigs down low or parachuting in for crucial rotations. Those nimble feet aid him as an interior defender. On the backend of these rotations, he’s put together some impressive grab-and-go sequences that showcase his ball-handling fluidity, too.

As he works through the kinks of his scoring, his foremost offensive trait is his processing speed in advantageous situations. Whether it’s on the short roll or attacking a hasty closeout that grants his jumper too much respect, Walker is a bona fide playmaker. He’ll whip cross-court feeds to shooters, zip reads to baseline cutters and leave gifts for teammates in the paint.

Rebuilds cultivate settings for players such as Walker to assert himself. The edges are a little rough. That’s OK. There aren’t many smooth edges in Portland, especially among those likely to help fuel the next era of winning. Whenever that era arrives, however, Walker may surely be an important reason why.