Darius Garland kept his hand in the air to support the fact that he contested the shot. This was not enough to disrupt Derrick White who had just planted his feet after playing the “pick-and-pop” with Jayson Tatum. With on arrival, a new 3-point basket.
Yet another award-winning basket even for the back of the Celtics, boiling like never before for ten days: 38 points with 8/15 from afar, then 25 points with 5/10 at 3-points to finish the previous series against the Heat.
The change of opponent, and the start of the series against the Cavaliers, had no effect on him with a new outing last night at 25 points, 7/12 from distance, 5 assists and not the slightest ball lost. Combining his last three games, the former Spurs player has 20 3-point baskets!
Derrick White joins a club of elite shooters to have scored as many winning shots in three playoff games in a row: Stephen Curry (three appearances), Klay Thompson (2016), Jamal Murray (2020) and Damian Lillard (2021 and 2024 combined). “ They're damn good players, that's for sure. “, smiles the person concerned when this statistic is reported to him.
A new version of himself
A nice understatement for this player who, night after night, emerges from the shadow of the other Celtics stars. “ If you don't know Derrick White, you better learn how to do it », warns Jaylen Brown, the other strong man of this first round.
The latter rightly considers that his teammate has made serious progress recently. “ This is a new version that we have never seen before. He worked, his body developed a little, he gained experience in the playoffs. He is aggressive and we ask him to be more and more in the future “.
A development partly due to his own presence, as well as that of Jayson Tatum. The two combine very well with their shooter, in the two-man game where one of the “Jays” sets a screen for Derrick White. The latter, as he says, benefits greatly from the attention paid to the two stars of the team.
Like in training
“ We constantly review certain readings during training. I see him on the sideline working on the type of shots he knows he's going to get. We have certain actions, actions that he masters, where his shots come from. It's kind of like training for him, because he takes these shots over and over again “, describes Jaylen Brown.
“ This is important because it means that the shots he takes are usually because we are in transition, we set really good screens and he has that opportunity », adds Joe Mazzulla, who sees in Derrick White's success proof of the good offensive functioning of his team.
A speech to which his shooter adheres, thanking his teammates for his good form at the moment. “ It's nice. I think the most important thing is to win. I've said it before, it doesn't matter if I score zero or I don't know how many baskets today. If we win, it’s because I’ve done enough », he finishes.
| Derrick White | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2017-18 | SAN | 17 | 8 | 48.5 | 61.5 | 70.0 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 3.2 |
| 2018-19 | SAN | 67 | 26 | 47.9 | 33.8 | 77.2 | 0.5 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 2.2 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 9.9 |
| 2019-20 | SAN | 68 | 25 | 45.8 | 36.6 | 85.3 | 0.5 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 2.2 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 11.3 |
| 2020-21 | SAN | 36 | 30 | 41.1 | 34.6 | 85.1 | 0.4 | 2.6 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 15.4 |
| 2021-22 * | All Teams | 75 | 29 | 42.1 | 31.2 | 86.4 | 0.5 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 4.9 | 2.3 | 0.9 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 13.2 |
| 2021-22 * | SAN | 49 | 30 | 42.6 | 31.4 | 86.9 | 0.5 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 5.6 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 14.4 |
| 2021-22 * | BOS | 26 | 27 | 40.9 | 30.6 | 85.3 | 0.5 | 2.9 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 2.2 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 11.0 |
| 2022-23 | BOS | 82 | 28 | 46.2 | 38.1 | 87.5 | 0.6 | 2.9 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 2.2 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 12.4 |
| 2023-24 | BOS | 73 | 33 | 46.1 | 39.6 | 90.1 | 0.7 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 5.2 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 15.2 |
| Total | 418 | 28 | 45.0 | 36.3 | 85.4 | 0.6 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 2.2 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 12.3 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
