In the first quarter of the Boston Celtics’ Saturday night victory over the Phoenix Suns, Derrick White was dominant. He finished the session with six points, two rebounds, and four assists on 3-of-5 shooting as the offence flowed through him.
He had scored ten points by the half and was perfect at 3-point range, going five for five. He only gave the ball up once, and after three quarters, he had eight assists.
In the first half of Boston’s game against the Denver Nuggets, White had scored seven points, pulled down four rebounds, and dishevelled two assists on three of six shots. He put three more dimes in the third.
Through the first three quarters of the Celtics’ game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, which they should have won, White finished with three points, six rebounds, and seven assists on 1-of-4 shooting.
White finished 0-for-2 from the field with zero points, three rebounds, and two assists in the three fourth quarters of those games combined.
White’s offensive impact has somewhat decreased due to his current shooting slump, but his pick-and-roll style of play has been one of the Celtics’ most efficient ways to score this year. However, Boston let him go in three consecutive fourth quarters of “clutch” games as defined by the NBA.
White’s chemistry with Luke Kornet, Kristaps Porzingis, and Tatum is unmatched, and when they play at his tempo, it almost exclusively results in beautiful basketball.
End-of-game scenarios are far different from what’s going on in the first quarter. Defenses tighten up, the game slows down, and defensive pressure hits a new level. But White has been one of the most composed players on the team all season.
In the clutch this year, White has shot 14-of-27 (51.9%) from the field and 10-of-21 (47.6%) from distance. He’s scored 48 points, grabbed 16 rebounds, dished out eight assists, nabbed one steal, and blocked five shots, all while committing just one turnover.
Jayson Tatum did a good job of setting up the offence against the Suns. Additionally, the Celtics scored a lot of points in transition as Denver was stumbling against the Nuggets.
But why was White forced to play off the ball during crucial minutes of the game, when winning really mattered?
Almost all of White’s touches in the last five minutes of Boston’s defeat by Denver occurred during transition. He advanced the ball into the court, surrendered it, and turned into a perimeter catch-and-shoot player.
White was a little more active versus Cleveland and Phoenix, but it was still far from his early-game dominance against the Suns.
