Boston Celtics
“You take a look at all of the superior stuff, he’s [a] high 5 participant within the league, [a] celebrity.”
Relating to charting out the Celtics’ sustained stretch of success on the courtroom over the previous couple of seasons, a lot of the reward tends to get directed towards Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
However, Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson was fast to salute one other key cog in Boston’s lineup forward of the Celtics’ eventual 109-98 victory Sunday afternoon.
“Derrick White, he’s a high 5 participant on this league,” Atkinson stated, per MassLive’s Bran Robb. “I do know nobody says that in the usual media, however analytically, you take a look at all of the superior stuff, he’s [a] high 5 participant within the league, [a] celebrity.
“Jaylen [Brown] is clearly having an important yr. [Neemias] Queta is analytically one of many high 30 [players], in all probability. They’ve a variety of expertise even with out Jayson. So I believe should you simply form of look, oh my gosh, Jayson Tatum’s out, they’re going to be horrible, I by no means purchased into that.”
White’s stats might not leap off the web page like Brown or Tatum (when wholesome). However the 31-year-old guard impacts video games in a wide range of methods.
Though White’s taking pictures has dipped this season (39.4 subject purpose share), he’s nonetheless averaging 17.4 factors, 4.4 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.5 blocks per sport in his fifth season with Boston.
With Tatum lacking the primary 61 video games of the 2025-26 marketing campaign whereas recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon, White elevated his sport this season as Boston’s secondary scoring choice behind Brown.
Now that Tatum is again within the fold and cleared to play for the ultimate stretch of the season, White can settle again into his typical position as Boston’s Swiss Military Knife.
Past his knack for stuffing the stat sheet, White’s skill to protect a number of positions and swat makes an attempt within the paint makes him Joe Mazzulla’s go-to defensive stopper this season.
White had a quiet sport on Sunday in opposition to Cleveland, scoring simply six factors off of 2-for-9 taking pictures with seven rebounds and 5 assists. However with Brown and Tatum teaming up for 43 factors, the Celtics don’t want White to do an excessive amount of in an effort to positively affect this roster.
“They’re actually good. I imply, they’re a tricky matchup for everyone,” Atkinson stated Sunday. “They bought a championship pedigree, proper? That is one other stage. That is an elite, elite crew, one of many elites, of the league. We bought so much to show that that is a part of it, getting over the hump. They’re actually good, and now they’ve Tatum again.”
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