Coby White knew it was a wrap.
As good a defender as Brook Lopez is, the Milwaukee big man was on White’s back hip and the R2 accelerate trigger was pressed.
An easy lay-up for White and a tip of the cap to teammate Nikola Vucevic afterward.
“Vooch makes the game easier for everyone else,’’ White said.
Welcome to the debut of the new-look Bulls offense. Well, at least snippets of it.
While the preseason opener in Milwaukee on Sunday was an eventual 105-102 loss, it was a great dress rehearsal for all the work put into the offseason by the coaching staff and the front office to change the shot profile for a group that was being brought back mostly intact.
That meant using Vucevic at the top of the key for play-making, that meant attacking the paint more often, and of course realizing that the three-point shot can be your friend.
“I feel like we got a bunch of open shots, a bunch of open looks, just by moving the ball, getting to the paint and making the right plays,’’ White said of the offense. “They didn’t always fall, but this is what preseason is for.’’
And the Bulls need to take full advantage of that.
At least against the Bucks, they did.
Vucevic was used to initiate offensive sets at the top of the key, evident by White’s second-quarter lay-up that came off a Vucevic dribble hand-off and then a screen to get Lopez on the switch. The drive-and-kick was used often. And as far as that three-point shot? How about launching 35 for the game?
The Bulls were dead last in three-point attempts last season, putting up 28.9 threes per game. If 35 becomes their new comfort zone that would have put them at 10th in the Association last season.
A good ZIP code to reside in.
“That’s kind of what the emphasis was in Nashville (for training camp) the last four or five days, and that’s just how we’ve got to play,’’ coach Billy Donovan said. “If it’s going to be DeMar (DeRozan), Zach (LaVine), and Vooch, as well as they shot the ball (last season), and we were still the 24th-best offense.
“It’s not when they shoot the ball. When they shoot the ball they are elite at it. It’s what are we doing off the ball, away from the ball, to create space, to create the shots where you can drive, kick, and move it.’’
That’s why White was all smiles in the locker room after the game.
It’s one thing spending the week in a Nashville gym hoping the new philosophy will work, but actually seeing it generate open looks that weren’t there last season on far too many nights, now there’s some hope.
“I think we shot 35 threes, so hopefully we get that into the 40s,’’ White said. “Then we move from there. We’ve got really good shooters on this team. Everybody can shoot the ball, everybody can make shots, so we just have to continue to play to our identity, playing downhill, kicks, and making the right decisions.’’
And a sprinkling in of Vucevic doesn’t hurt.
Before Vucevic re-signed with the Bulls back in July, he had several discussions with Donovan about bringing the ball up and initiating the offense from the top of the key. That look was used and led to positive results. White found that out.
“Coming off that pick-and-roll, Vooch is such a threat in that mid-range area and the three,’’ White said. “So lots of times the bigs have to make a decision on are you going to let Vooch, who can shoot the hell out of the ball, get up a three or you going to let the guard get downhill? He commands so much attention.’’
