After making his first three three-point attempts of the third quarter, Derrick White found himself an in-rhythm look on the wing on a dish from Al Horford.
White loaded up and let the ball fly. As the ball was in the air, he began backpedaling.
Having already scored nine points in the frame, all coming from distance, he was feeling good.
The ball hit the back of the rim -- It was a rare miss for White.
On the other end, Donovan Mitchell tried to push the pace quickly. White attempted to take a charge near the free-throw line and was called for a blocking foul.
As Jrue Holiday and Jaylen Brown helped White off the floor, the crowd erupted into chants of “Derrick White! Derrick White! Derrick White!”
It wasn’t the typical sequence that warranted such recognition, but that didn’t matter.
Once again, White had single-handedly taken over the game with a barrage of threes.
“It was awesome,” White said ever-so humbly after the game on the chants. “Shoutout to the fans always. I’m thankful, and I’m grateful for them, always.”
And the fans are thankful and grateful for him.
White continued his hot shooting in Boston’s Game 1 win over Cleveland, pouring in 25 points on 7-of-12 (58.3%) shooting from deep. It was his third consecutive game with at least 25 points.
The 29-year-old joined an elite group, including Stephen Curry, Jamal Murray, Klay Thompson, and Damian Lillard, as just the fifth player to make 20 or more three-pointers over a three-game span.
Additionally, White became only the fourth player in NBA postseason history to make at least seven threes in consecutive playoff games, alongside Thompson, Curry, and Desmond Bane.
“Derrick White has grown. This is a new version that we haven’t seen before. He has put the work in,” Jaylen Brown said on White postgame. “His body has developed a little bit. He’s got some more playoff experience. And he’s being aggressive. We urge him to do that. We’re going to need that more and more down the line.”
White has made an NBA-best 28 threes this postseason, averaging 22.8 points per game (second-most on the Celtics) on 50-of-87 (57.5%) shooting from the field and 28-of-56 (50%) from distance. A far cry from his 36.4% field goal and 31.3% three-point percentage splits from Boston’s NBA Finals run in 2022.
“He’s been great. I love the way he’s been playing on both ends of the floor,” Jayson Tatum said after the game. “It just puts a lot of pressure on the defense tonight and last series. We’ve just got a lot of different ways to win a game, and I would assume that it’s tough for the other team to try and figure that out.”
The White trade is Brad Stevens’ finest work. It’s the gift that keeps on giving. White’s development over the past two and a half years has been instrumental to Boston’s success, evidenced by their impressive 135-46 record with him in the lineup. Over the last two seasons, only Nikola Jokic boasts a better plus-minus than White, underscoring his invaluable contribution to the team’s success.
The postseason has been no different, as he has been the best player on the floor for Boston.
“Well,” Joe Mazzulla said on White’s play this postseason. “[On] both ends of the floor. He’s the kind of guy that can impact the game differently every night. Whatever the game calls for, he is willing to do, and he has done that. We need him to continue to do that.”
Forget the top 100 list. White is becoming a star and one of the most beloved Celtics in recent memory. His performance has earned praise from fellow NBA players throughout the season, and after his exceptional Game 1 showing, another All-NBA player has endorsed him, cementing his growing reputation in the league.
“I feel like he’s had some things that he’s definitely added to his game,” Donovan Mitchell said. “I think he’s a guy that’s always — whatever you need from him, that’s a big thing from him, selfless. A guy that comes in. Some series, he may go 0-for, but he’s doing other things defensively and doing different things.”
“He’s definitely grown as a player. Obviously, I’ve seen it throughout the years and whatnot.”
White epitomizes winning. It's the quintessential term attached to his name, and as the Celtics pursue their ultimate goal, White's indelible mark will undoubtedly be stamped all over their success.
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