This is the first year of the decade where the Boston Celtics are much more than Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. A couple of key offseason moves that brought in Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday helped give the Celtics a starting five that’s the best in the NBA.
Derrick White also joined that starting five with the departure of veteran point guard Marcus Smart. White went from a role player off the bench to All-Star candidate. Since he’s come to Boston, White has always been known as the player who does all the little things that don’t show up in the box score. While that may be true, White is also putting up some serious numbers this season.
Jrue Holiday on Derrick White: ‘He’s an All-Star’
.@tvabby caught up with Jrue Holiday exclusively after his season-high 22 points vs. the Raptors
Holiday and White both stepped things up in the absence of Brown on Monday, January 15, against the Toronto Raptors. With Brown nursing a hyperextended knee, Holiday and White led the way with 22 points apiece. They combined to shoot 9-for-17 from 3-point range. White’s final long-range shot came with 1:17 remaining and gave Boston a seven-point lead and was a dagger to the Raptors.
“Man, he’s an All-Star. I think the things that he does, a lot of times goes unnoticed,” Holiday told Abby Chin of NBC Sports Boston after the game. “But the way that he plays, the way that he carries this team, especially with JB out tonight and hit a big shot there in the corner. That’s what D-White does.”
White has played a major role in the success of the Celtics, who boast the NBA’s best record at 31-9.
On a team full of stars, including a pair of All-NBA studs in Tatum and Brown, White is putting up career-high numbers. He has career-bests in both points per game (15.9) and rebounds (3.9).
White Can No Longer Be Considered Underrated
Another night, another Derrick White highlight block.
White is shedding that reputation of being a player who does the little things that go unnoticed, as Holiday pointed out. Holiday isn’t the only teammate who feels that way. Earlier this year, Porzingis labeled White “underrated.”
“More and more people are talking about it now, but I think he’s still very underrated,” Porzingis said in December, per NBC Sports Boston. “He’s already put up some great stats, and his numbers are really good. But if you don’t watch the game, what you don’t see is all the steals, something like when he recovers on defense when he’s super late, and somehow he gets a steal.
Kristaps Porzingis on Derrick White: “More and more people are talking about it now but I think he’s still very underrated.”
“He can change the game, change the momentum. He’s really good at that. I think if you don’t watch the game, you don’t see. But when you watch the game, you realize how good and how important he is.”
White is a 6-foot-4 guard who led the Celtics in blocked shots last season. He’s the one who singlehandedly got the Celtics to a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference Finals with his improbable put-back off a Smart missed shot as time expired.
White no longer sneaks up on anyone. Teams now prep for White. When you’re getting serious All-Star consideration, and you’re a key member of the best team in the NBA, people will take notice.
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Not Everything Derrick White Does Goes Unnoticed for the Celtics: ‘He’s an All-Star’