Derrick White has been one of Boston’s best all-around players in the first two games of the playoffs, sparking the offense while also limiting Atlanta star Trae Young, right. Michael Dwyer/Associated Press
Brad Stevens has been a man of action since taking over as the Boston Celtics’ president of basketball operations. He wasted no time in reacquiring Al Horford just days after Stevens’ elevation, but landing the big man may no longer serve as his defining move in Boston. Instead, solidifying the team’s core with Derrick White before the NBA trade market spun out of control is helping the Celtics look as formidable as any contender in the opening week of the NBA Playoffs.
White was at his best yet again in Boston’s Game 2 win on Tuesday night, soundly outplaying Trae Young with 26 points, seven rebounds and three blocks to help neutralize Atlanta’s best scoring weapon. The defense was always part of the package with White, but his growth offensively has turned him into the second best player in this series so far, punishing Atlanta for leaving their worst defenders on him.
“I thought he just made the right play,” Celtics Coach Joe Mazzulla said. “So when you have him, you have Smart, you have two guys that are toggling between handling, setting, you have Jayson (Tatum) and Jaylen Brown) handling, settling, and you’re able to navigate your offense, it’s just who is going to make the right play. And they started doubling, and then we were able to get some open looks and generate some confusion there, so when you do that, he does a great job of just making the right play, and he took advantage of it.”
White is averaging 25 points, six rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.5 blocks in this series while shooting 62% overall and 50% from 3-point range. Those are numbers that are on a star level for what should be a member of the team’s supporting cast. The production is taking a ton of pressure off Boston’s own All-Stars and providing a well-rounded offensive attack.
“It’s been great,” Tatum admitted. “We’re just so much more of a dynamic team when D. White is asserting himself and being aggressive and not being passive. Sometimes we talked about him being too passive and looking for guys too much, that he’s, like, too good of a guy.
“But these last few games, being aggressive, making the right play, attacking the rim, not necessarily waiting, just makes us that much better of a team. We’ve got so many guys, so many weapons offensively, that everybody needs to essentially be themselves. We can play the right way and be ourselves, and at the same time be a really good team.”
Brown only needed to attempt 14 shots in Game 2 as he deals with a lingering hand injury, but Boston still managed to shoot 55 percent from the field, in large part due to White going 11 for 16.
“That’s the beauty of being on a great team, being able to have multiple threats out there, to be able to play the game different ways and win in different ways,” Brown said. “Tonight was an example of that. D-White just exploded. On any given night, it can be anybody. You just have to encourage that. I tell D-White all the time, be aggressive, be confident. Like you said, that does open up the game, different spots during the same game or different games down the line. Teams respect other guys who are on the floor, so we need much more of that from D-White. We need him to keep that up.”
The offensive comfort level is night and day compared to a season ago at this time for White, when he was one of the team’s most inconsistent offensive contributors. White still helped propel to Celtics to a deep playoff run despite those woes, but the fact that Boston’s front office landed him when they did for a favorable price point bodes quite well for the present and the future.
If White were on the trade block this year, he would have cost far more than a first-round pick and a future pick swap as the main parts of the deal, especially when you consider he’s still under contract for another three years. Comparatively, the Spurs got a mid first-round pick and two second-round picks for an expiring contract this year in Jakob Poeltl. White’s value goes far beyond Poeltl in the postseason, based on their track record.
The Celtics had not given the team’s front office a lot of reason to make a big investment in another addition last year at the trade deadline, but striking early has created a team with far more cohesion now.
“I’ve been saying that last year was kind of a whirlwind ever since I got traded, for a lot of reasons,” White said. “But this year, from the first day, I just felt comfortable and I’m just trying to get better each and every day. The team’s doing a great job of just empowering me and helping me out throughout the whole ride.”
The Celtics have a long way to go to get back to the NBA Finals, but their odds of getting there just look better and better the more White plays like this.
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