After a rough stretch, Derrick White is rediscovering his joy and knocking down shots
Derrick White said he has been playing with more joy lately, and it showed during the 4th quarter against the Knicks.
For a brief stretch, the Knicks who looked wobbly, uneven, and sluggish from the opening tip appeared to find their footing.
They had sliced a 27-point deficit down to four on a 31-foot 3-pointer from Karl-Anthony Towns with 11:32 remaining in the fourth quarter.
But that was as close as New York would get during an eventual 118-105 loss to the Celtics at TD Garden on Sunday, because Derrick White closed out the fourth quarter with a flourish.
White made all three of his 3-point attempts in the final period, including a 26-footer on the possession right after Towns’s three. White’s make brought Boston’s lead back to seven, and gave the Celtics a boost that helped them pull away.
“I think why we love him so much, obviously is just who he is, and how he plays in general,” Kristaps Porzingis said. “But one thing I love about him is he always makes big shots. When we’re a little bit flat or whatever he can hit some deep corner threes or some clutch threes. He has it in his blood, you know?”
White has had his share of heroics in clutch moments over the years. He hit a last-second tip-in to force Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals in 2023. He hit the go-ahead 3-pointer in Game 4 of last year’s Eastern Conference Finals against Indiana.
But, he endured a lengthy shooting slump during December and January this season that coincided with a stretch where the defending champs found themselves underachieving. White shot 41.3 percent from the field in December and an even 40 percent from the field in January.
The typically reliable White was not making shots, and the Celtics’ offense sputtered during that stretch. He mentioned the loss to Toronto, who are 13th in the Eastern Conference standings, as a low point. White had the same number of turnovers (2) as made field goals in the loss.
Some of the struggles were to be expected – White opened the season on a tear, shooting 55 percent from the field and 47 percent from 3-point range in October.
His overall field-goal percentage (44.2) and 3-point percentage (37.8) are still down slightly compared to last year, but it appears White is regaining his shooting stroke and his confidence as the Celtics power through the second half of the season.
“I don’t know, I would just go into the arena and I just didn’t have the same amount of joy and my energy kind of affected it,” White said at practice on Saturday. “I think that’s just when I’m at my best, when I’m having fun, my energy is high, and I’m just doing a lot of different things.”
“So, I think during that time when I wasn’t playing well, it just all combined into the reason why I probably wasn’t playing really well. So, just trying to come back, be excited and just do what I do best.”
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said the slump tested the team, and showed just how much White matters. He’s playing with freedom now, Mazzulla said, and adjusting to the expectations of being a starting point guard on a championship-caliber team.
“I think as you become a better player, which he’s done since he’s gotten here and with the success that he’s had, the expectations rise,” Mazzulla said. “When the expectations rise, it’s easy for the joy to be robbed. That’s just kind of the natural ebbs and flows of a career and I think there are moments where you have to fight for that.”
“So, when he’s at his best, he plays carefree and he makes big shots like he did tonight and he just defends at a super high level,” the coach added. “But, you have to go through it. I’m glad he went through it. It was important for his growth. It was important for us to see him struggle because it shows how much we need him and it’s important for him to fight for that confidence because he is one of the best point guards in the league and when he plays like that, we’re a different team.”
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown both said they feel a responsibility to lift up teammates when they are struggling. Tatum said he reminds White every day about how much the team needs him. Seeing White rediscover his joy is “super important”, Tatum said.
Brown said the one thing the Celtics need on a daily basis, regardless of how many shots are falling, is a strong defensive effort. White delivered on Sunday, stopping a 4-on-1 Knicks fastbreak by himself, stealing a pass from Jalen Brunson in the fourth quarter, and pulling down nine rebounds.
“Just encourage it. Encourage it,” Brown said. “I think that over the course, things may get away from you or you just might think things are going in your direction or the way you planned and that can be discouraging. I just try to encourage our guys to be aggressive and to be who they are … throughout the regular season you’ve got to encourage everybody to be aggressive because you want everybody feeling good going into the playoffs.”
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