Bulls backcourt explodes again as Chicago beats another contender

On Monday, the Bulls defeated the Denver Nuggets for their third road win in a row, and their eighth win in their last 10 games. They got 26 points, nine assists and seven rebounds from 22-year-old Josh Giddey, while 25-year-old Coby White put up 37 points in the 129-119 win.

White has been on a scoring tear, putting up 37, 36 and 35 points in his last three games. In the last 10 games, White is the NBA's seventh-leading scorer with 30.6 points again, while shooting 41.5 percent from three-point range and over 50 percent from the field.

Giddey has finally developed an outside shot, previously his biggest weakness. One reason the Oklahoma City Thunder traded Giddey to the Bulls last summer was his poor three-point shooting. This season, he's up to 38.2 percent, and 47.6 percent in his last 10 games. He's third in the NBA in assists for that stretch, nearly averaging a triple-double with 22.8 points, 9.7 rebounds and 9.7 assists.

With Zach Lavine traded to the Sacramento Kings at the deadline, White and Giddey have seen their offensive roles expand. With DeMar DeRozan joining the Kings last summer and Alex Caruso going to OKC, there are 40 more shot attempts per game available compared to last season's team.

The duo makes the Bulls more of a threat in the play-in tournament. After trading LaVine, it looked like Chicago was prepared to tank and get a lottery pick since they got the rights to their own pick back in the deal. But after a six-game trade immediately following the deal, the Bulls went 10-5, leapfrogging the Miami Heat into ninth place.

Now, with one of the NBA's easiest schedules the rest of the way, the Bulls have a legitimate chance to make the playoffs. If White is a threat to score 30 and Giddey a triple-double threat in any game, the Bulls are suddenly a dangerous team in a single-elimination format. Just ask the playoff teams they faced in the last two weeks.