The Celtics need more out of Derrick White

Derrick White’s impact goes far beyond his scoring.

Game 3 was a clear reminder. Despite a continued shooting slump (3-of-12), he defended at an elite level — as he has for most of this series — and came up with two clutch offensive rebounds, including one that led to Jayson Tatum’s dagger three to seal the win.

“He is not defined just by shot making,” Mazzulla said after the game. “Heading into Game 1, he defended like 54 pick-and-rolls, which is the most on the team, and he has to be able to do that for us to win. Those two rebounds were big-time rebounds, and he can impact winning in so many different ways, so I’m always going to double down on his competitive character, who he is.”

All of that holds up.

White’s value has always been rooted in his versatility and his ability to impact the game in ways that don’t show up in the box score. But in the playoffs, shotmaking carries more weight. And for this Celtics team, he’s not just a complementary scorer. He’s a necessary secondary scorer behind Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

And so far, that piece has been missing.

White has totaled just 41 points this postseason, shooting 14-of-47 (29.8%) from the field and 7-of-33 (21.2%) from three. Among players with at least 40 shot attempts, he’s the only one in the league shooting below 30%. His regular-season average of 16.5 points per game has been cut in half to 8.2.

Among players logging 30+ minutes per game, he’s one of just six averaging fewer than nine points, alongside Jamal Shead, Toumani Camara, Rudy Gobert, Oso Ighodaro, and Dyson Daniels.

As impactful as the “other stuff” has been, the Celtics’ need for another scorer is becoming hard to ignore.

A Celtic has scored 15+ points 12 times in this series. Tatum and Brown account for all but two of those, both from Payton Pritchard. No one else has crossed that threshold. As a result, Tatum and Brown have combined for 45.5% of the team’s scoring.

That’s not sustainable. It’s a major reason the series is heading back to Philadelphia for Game 6, and a real concern for a team with Finals expectations.

White is a winning player. His 49-29 playoff record in Boston reflects that. But his shotmaking has historically been part of that formula. Before this postseason, he shot 39.8% from three across four playoff runs with the Celtics, including 45.5% in 2023, 40.4% in 2024, and 38.5% in 2025.

That element matters more now than ever.

“Yeah, obviously it’s frustrating,” White said after Game 3. “When I’m out there, I have to do everything to help us win games. Everybody here has got my back, so I got a lot of love, and I’m thankful for the team and staff and everybody here. They’re staying with me through it all. It’s my job to go out there and help us win. If it’s not shooting, it’s gotta be everything else.”

The issue is that “everything else” has a ceiling.

If the Celtics are going to make a deep run, they don’t just need Derrick White’s versatility; they need his shotmaking, too. And at its current level, it’s not enough.