Performance Of The Night: Coby White

Wanna talk about having a performance for the ages? Coby White’s Play-In performance against the Atlanta Hawks was star-blossoming and eye-opening and allowed him to take his team to the next level. Am I exaggerating? Not in the slightest.

Not only did the Chicago Bulls win by 15 points over Dejounte Murray, Trae Young’s team, but Chicago also proved they have the fight in them to make it to the first round of the postseason. While I hate injuries, the only positive from the Bulls suffering so many injuries was seeing the capabilities of White.

Many people did not know what to think of White, if he was a bench player or a very inconsistent starter. However, this season, including tonight, proved he is that guy. Not only did he have a career-high in points (19.1), rebounds (4.5), and assists (5.1), but he didn’t crumble in the postseason.

Some players have an incredible, crowd-awakening regular season but then struggle in the postseason—if their team is lucky enough to make it. For White, who’s only 24 years old, exceeded those expectations.

He dropped a career-high 42 points, nine rebounds, six assists, and two steals. Plus, he had one of the most efficient games in his career. If not the most efficient game of his short playoff career, for accuracy, this was his fifth playoff game appearance.

White shot 15/21 from the field, that’s 71%. He definitely felt a fire that motivated him to go nuts for the home crowd and against his opponents. To go almost perfect in a do-or-die playoff game is insane. Whoever lost was sent packing, and whoever won faced the Miami Heat on Friday.

The Bulls needed a spark, a game-changer, a game-wrecker, a difference-maker… well, they found it in Coby White. I’m personally very happy for him because I know it’s been a process, a journey, to get to where he is today. Beyond all that, Billy Donovan now sees the fruits of him sticking with White and helping him develop.

What a monumental night for the young talent, as he also made franchise history. White joins Michael Jordan as the only Bulls players to record 40+ points, 5+ assists, and 0 turnovers in any regular or postseason game. This is why he won CourtSideHeat’s POTN Award.

Performance Of The Night: Malachi Flynn

Was anybody expecting Malachi Flynn to be CourtSideHeat’s POTN Award winner? No, if we are all being honest with one another. Did anybody expect my guy to drop 50 points against the Atlanta Hawks? No, not in the slightest.

First of all, I know I’m breaking the rule for this award that the player’s team needs to win the game; however, this performance was historic and may never happen again from a bench guy or Flynn himself. It just needs to be done, don’t care.

I remember when the 25-year-old was in the OG Anunoby trade and then in the Bojan Bogdanovic trade with the Detroit Pistons. The New York Knicks were wielding and dealing like the world was ending.

People really didn’t think about Flynn, mainly because he was a “subpar” bench player who averaged five points a game. It’s understandable why he isn’t mentioned as a threat, but he became a threat today against the Hawks.

In a game where the Hawks needed to win for a Play-In spot, where everyone thought it would be an easy win, there was one man ready to jeopardize their chances of a crucial spot: Malachi (middle name unknown, seriously) Flynn.

The reserve point guard put up 50 points, six rebounds, five assists, and four steals. He also went 18/25 (72%) from the field and 5/9 (55%) from deep. What’s even more incredible is that Flynn is the *ONLY* player in NBA history to put up these numbers as a bench player.

Plus, to make this performance even more historic, he’s only the third bench player in NBA history to score 50 points in a game. Since 1970-71, when stats were first beginning to be tracked, only three players have done it. Do you all know how astonishing that is?

The other two men were Jamal Crawford (2019) and Nick Anderson (1993). Flynn tied Anderson with 50 points, while Crawford sits at 51 points. Could you imagine a guy like Flynn passing up the likes of two very well-known and well-respected players? Not many would, but it has been done.

Not only did he do it, he did it at an incredibly efficient rate. The 25-year-old went 72% from the field, 55% from deep, and 75% (9/12) from the line. That is incredibly hard to do, especially when shooting over 20 shots. To be exact, he shot it 25 times.

Monty Williams didn’t check him into the game until the 5:38 mark of the first quarter. What’s even more fascinating is that he’s the tenth guy this season to score 50 points. Plus, this makes you never want to underestimate guys again; he has the lowest scoring average of any player with a 50-point game in the history of the NBA. Flynn averages 5.2 points per game this season.

To recap, he did it efficiently, broke some records, added his name to history, and became a real-life underdog story of the night and for the rest of the week. He broke franchise records and added himself to NBA history.

Fans and experts will say the name “Malachi Flynn” more often now. Detroit fans finally have something positive to talk about for the remainder of the season.

Performance Of The Night: Nikola Jokic

Nikola Jokic is slowly becoming a basketball god; I don’t even know how else to put it. Out of all the performances in tonight’s group of games, his performance is the best one by far. He went toe-to-toe with Victor Wembanyama… AND DUNKED ON HIM!

Did anybody expect The Joker to do that to the San Antonio Spurs’ alien? Probably not, no disrespect to Jokic, dunking on people ain’t his game – especially to do it on a guy like Wemby – but he made it his game tonight.

Besides the career moment, Jokic balled out. In 38 minutes, he put up 42 points, 16 rebounds, six assists, two blocks, and a steal. Plus, he was very efficient in tonight’s win over San Antonio. Went 18/32 (56%) from the field.

He was one of, if not the top two-way players in tonight’s game. There is a reason why he is regarded as the greatest draft steal in NBA history. This win also allowed Denver to reclaim the first seed in the West.

Nikola Jokic is just a different breed; he’s in his prime and could be lining up for a second title run. Nobody had this most efficient game today; not Wemby, not Andrew Wiggins, no one else but Jokic.

We can use all the adjectives to describe his greatness, but in reality, he does this on a consistent level, so we become numb as we take it as normal and a “usual game” for him.