The Boston Celtics, winners of two in a row after their season-opening loss to the Detroit Pistons, must now deal with their first back-to-back of the season when they take on the Brooklyn Nets at TD Garden on Tuesday.
The Celtics crushed the Chicago Bulls at home Monday, 134-99. But the big win may have come with a downside, as Tuesday’s news on 10th-year veteran guard Derrick White appears to indicate.
The Celtics announced that guard Derrick White will appear on the team’s injury report for the first time Tuesday. In fact, White is the first Celtic to appear on the injury report this season, outside of newly acquired Devin Carter, who continues to miss games with a bout of mononucleosis. White is listed as probable with his injury designated as right hip synovitis for Tuesday night’s game against Brooklyn.
“Synovitis is swelling (inflammation) in the synovial membrane that lines some of your joints, including your hip joint,” according to information from the Colorado Center of Orthopaedic Excellence.
On the second night of Boston’s first back-to-back, the new designation raises a question about whether Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla will alter a starting five that has not changed at all so far this season.
Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. EDT at TD Garden.
The Celtics have not said when the hip began bothering White or what caused it, and he has not missed a game yet. He played 18 minutes Monday before the hip appeared on the report. White is probable for Tuesday’s game, according to reporter Bobby Krivitsky. Flashscore lists a knee injury in March 2025 and an ankle injury in April 2025, but no earlier hip problem for the 32-year-old.
Derrick White Starting Status for Celtics
Probable means the team expects White to play. He has started all three games this season, each time alongside Jordan Walsh, Jayson Tatum, Paul George and Mitchell Robinson.
If Mazzulla holds White out, Boston’s bench offers Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser and Baylor Scheierman in the guard and wing rotation. Pritchard scored 19 points in the third quarter Monday, and Boston has used an 11-man rotation through three games.
No other starter is listed on the injury report. Tatum, George and Robinson are available to play, according to reporter Zack Cox, and Carter, who is still out with mono, is the only other player on the report.
“We trust the sports science team that we have, we trust the competition of those guys,” Mazzulla said before Monday’s game. Robinson told Knicks Fan TV earlier this month that he would be able to play back-to-backs in Boston.
Derrick White’s Career and 2026-27 Start
White was born July 2, 1994, in Parker, Colorado. The San Antonio Spurs drafted him 29th overall in 2017 out of Colorado, where he transferred after three seasons at Division II Colorado-Colorado Springs. Boston acquired him in a February 2022 trade.
The 6-foot-4 guard has since collected three All-Defensive Team selections, a 2024 NBA championship and Olympic gold. He has averaged 13.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists across 574 regular-season games.
Through three starts, White is averaging 11.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists in 29.0 minutes per game. He is shooting 50% from the field and 40% from 3-point range.
He opened with 17 points and eight assists at Detroit in a 121-113 loss, then scored 12 points against the Knicks, adding six assists in a win. On Monday, he finished with five points, six rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block.
Last season, White averaged a career-high 16.5 points and 5.4 assists per game over 77 starts, but shot a career-worst 39.4% from the field and 32.7% from 3-point range on heavy volume, with 14.4 field-goal attempts and 8.3 3-point attempts per game.
Celtics Announce Concerning Derrick White News Before Nets Game