Erik Spoelstra explains the difference between Derrick White and Dwyane Wade’s shot-blocking abilities
“Derrick is uncanny ... he just had a knack for the timely block. It wasn’t just the number of blocks — they were always at the right time"
Derrick White has a reputation as one of the best guards in the NBA at blocking shots. He averaged a career-high 1.2 blocks per game last season, a feat that helped him get selected to the NBA All-Defensive second team.
White’s career average of 0.9 blocks per game puts him slightly ahead of another prolific 6-foot-4-inch shot swatter, Hall-of-Famer Dwyane Wade, who averaged 0.8 during his career.
Wade has a considerably larger body of work. He played 16 NBA seasons. White is in his eighth season. Wade’s numbers were also dragged down in his later years once he lost some of the bounce that made his high-flying game special. He had four straight seasons averaging 1.1 or more blocks per game.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra coached Wade during his prime, and he also got a close look at White this summer while serving as an assistant coach for USA Basketball.
During his pregame press conference Monday night, Spoelstra praised White for his shot-blocking abilities and explained the difference between how the Celtics guard approaches it and how Wade did.
“Derrick is uncanny,” Spoelstra said. “He did it all summer long, too. In practices, I think he got everybody at some point in practice, and in the competitions, he just had a knack for the timely block. It wasn’t just the number of blocks — they were always at the right time.”
“They’re totally different. Dwyane had a knack for the spectacular. We tried to design our defense for a number of years where we wanted him to be the low man in every situation because he was just brilliant in 2-on-1 situations where he would get a steal or you would roll him down there and a big man would think he was going to do something and Dwyane would go up and get that highlight, spectacular block.”
White’s combination of size, length, and timing, makes his shot-blocking a unique, and “incredible talent” Spoelstra said.
7-foot-2 Celtics center Luke Kornet, who had six blocks Monday, also highlighted White’s work ethic as a thing that separates him.
“He really has a unique ability. I feel like his ability to never give up on plays is a unique part of it, and he’s got to be one of the quickest people off the floor. There’s like no load up. It’s just all kind of like bounce and spring.
“He’s just really persistent as a player I feel like his brain is always working to see how can I make things a little bit more difficult … I think we’re very different as shot-blockers but I think him and I both know a thing or two about rejection in our lives, so perhaps that is part of it.”
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