Derrick White is quickly becoming a fixture in the Celtics lineup, coming off the bench as a sixth man and seeing significant time in the closing minutes. Michael Dwyer/Associated Press
In his first two games as a member of the Boston Celtics, no player has a better plus/minus (+23) than Derrick White, one of many signs he’s a perfect fit on a team in the midst of an eight-game winning streak.
White was front and center in various parts of Boston’s 105-95 win over the Hawks on Sunday, chipping in with 14 points, four rebounds, five assists, two steals and a blocked shot over 29 minutes. He struggled with his jump shot (2 for 10 from 3-point range) which was the case during his time in San Antonio this season as well. However, his impact on other facets of the game has stood out to his coach and Boston’s stars.
“It’s great for a coach and a team,” Celtics Coach Ime Udoka said of having a player like White. “That’s what you kind of rely on night in and night out. You know what you’re going to get as far as that. He does a lot of the little things as well as some of the big things. But a guy that really kind of changes the pace out there. He’s a really good point-five guy, makes quick decisions, makes the right read most of the time. He had some open looks that he’ll knock down, but in general played the right way. And then he’s another guy with versatility on the defensive end.”
The 6-foot-4 guard was known for his passing in San Antonio but Udoka has leaned on him heavily as a screener at the end of games as part of Boston’s new-look closing lineup. By putting some of the opponent’s weaker and smaller opponents in pick-and-roll actions, the Celtics’ offense was able to get better looks in crunch time.
“Some guys that we thought we could pick on tonight,” Udoka said. “And so they were guarding Derrick and Marcus. Marcus has been a good screener and kind of rolls into that mid area and makes plays. And Derrick can do that as well. And then he can handle as well and attack when a poor defender is guarding him. So just another guy you can’t hide anybody on. Multidimensional. As you mentioned, he does a lot of those little things. And you love him on the back side. A guy that can catch and shoot, catch and attack, and will make the right read. So, trust what he’s doing. And obviously he’s impacted the game since he’s been here.”
White ranks fifth in minutes per game with the Celtics (28.7) despite coming off the bench as a sixth man since his arrival. That number will probably just go up once he gets better acclimated to Boston’s system.
“Derrick is a threat,” Jaylen Brown said. “You gotta respect him, you got to guard him. He makes shots, plays the game like a playmaker. So it just opens the floor up for everybody else. Having Derrick out there as just another guy who just fits right in. Capable shooter, can also drive and make plays for others and is another guy on the defensive end who can help us get stops, take charges, etc. So it’s been great having him out there. Two games so far and it’s only gonna get better.”
“Obviously it’s different – a new environment,” Jayson Tatum added. “But me, him, JB, and Smart played together at USA. He knows two of our trainers are from the Spurs. Ime and Will. So he knows guys and I think that helps him a lot.”
RESERVE BIG MAN Daniel Theis was courtside for the second straight game on Sunday but was not allowed to dress in a Boston uniform just yet. Three days passing from the trade deadline but the Celtics were still waiting on the deal to be cleared by the Rockets, as paperwork and physical for Dennis Schroder and Bruno Fernando had to be worked out. That clearance did not go through before the opening tip, leaving Boston with just 12 players on their bench, including two-way player Brodric Thomas for the matchup.
Theis will make his official debut in Philadelphia on Tuesday night but don’t look for Udoka to make any major tweaks to the team’s rotation once the big man is cleared. Theis hasn’t played for much of the past month so the Celtics will play it slow.
“We obviously like Al guarding (Joel) Embiid at times so we’ve changed it when we played those guys when he was available, he wasn’t available the second game,” Udoka said. “But Daniel’s a guy that obviously we’re comfortable with, confident in, and he can kind of get plugged right in. And so understanding what we have coming up with Embiid specifically, we’ll figure that out as we go and see where he’s at.
“He hasn’t played in probably about a month, and they haven’t been heavy minutes, so we have to build him up as well when the trade is finalized. And so we’ll keep him at a limit and Joel is obviously a guy that you want multiple bodies for. And so we’ll take that into account as that game comes and try to build him up next few games into All-Star break.”
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