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Thursday night, news broke that Boston Celtics veteran Malcolm Brogdon had taken home the honors of NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year, beating out New York Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley in the voting turnout 428-306.
Friday morning, during a team shoot-around the point guard was asked to describe what went through his mind when he found out he had taken home the illustrious moniker, and, in response, he went on to praise his teammates for their contributions and for helping him during his first season in Beantown.
“Man [I’m] just happy,” Malcolm Brogdon said. “Lot of sacrifices this year. A lot of hard work building up to this year. A lot of excitement and anticipation, not for the award but for the season…This team, this group of guys, this organization has been what I thought it would be and what I wanted it to be so, you know, I’m in a really good situation. This team, this organization, my teammates have been the biggest part of the reason why I won that award so it’s a team award. Everybody’s sacrificing.”
While Brogdon made it clear that the award is “recognition for both me and the group,” he would continue on to note that the Celtics have “a bigger goal in mind” which, ultimately, is to win a championship.
Though 67 games played during his first year in Boston, the 30-year-old has posted impressive per-game averages of 14.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 3.7 assists on 48.4% shooting from the floor and 44.4% shooting from deep, all while coming off the pine.
Derrick White Wants Celtics to Stay Focused
As Malcolm Brogdon suggested, the Boston Celtics have big goals set for themselves during the 2023 playoffs and teammate Derrick White is trying to keep them focused and hungry.
Despite being up 2-0 in their best-of-seven series against the Atlanta Hawks, the veteran guard understands that now is not the time to get too comfortable with their standing in round one.
“We did what we were supposed to do,” Derrick White said following Boston’s second straight home win. “[We] held [home court advantage] and now we got the real challenge of the playoffs which is winning on the road,” Derrick White said. “I know they’re going to play better at home and we’re going to have to step up our level of play.”
Derrick White has been a major factor in Boston’s early lead in the series, as he’s boasting stellar all-around averages of 25.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and a whopping 2.5 blocks per game while shooting 62.1% from the field and 50.0% from deep.
Nets Wing Tabbed as Offseason Option for Celtics
For years now, the Boston Celtics have had an incredibly top-heavy wing rotation with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown leading the charge, though had little depth behind the two cornerstones.
In a recent piece penned by Bleacher Report, writer Zach Buckley suggested that Brad Stevens and company could finally fill this rotational void by targeting the impending Brooklyn Nets free agent, Yuta Watanabe.
“So, beyond keeping Williams (at a reasonable price), the Shamrocks’ top offseason priority should be finding perimeter players with decent-or-better size. The 6’9″ Yuta Watanabe looks like a clean fit. He plays with force and boundless energy. He can switch on to three different positions on defense—or more in the right matchup. He has some off-the-dribble elements to his game and just shot 40-plus percent from three for the second time in three seasons,” Buckley wrote.
During his first season with the Nets, Watanabe established himself as a quality two-way reserve option and has posted solid per-game averages of 5.6 points and 2.4 rebounds while shooting 44.4% from beyond the arc along the way.
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