Celtics
Phoenix’s Royce O’Neale made a smooth move inside to avoid the contested look, but White wouldn’t be denied transition duties.
Derrick White added a new defensive play to his growing record on Saturday. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
There are few, if any, guards in the NBA who have as much impact defensively as Derrick White. the Celts.
On Saturday, White somehow dug deeper into his bag of tricks defensively.
In the second quarter of Saturday night’s Celtics-Suns matchup, Derrick White found himself one-on-one against Royce O’Neale in transition. White looked for the block and jumped to his left to contest the layup as it appeared O’Neale was heading upfield.
Instead, O’Neale crossed White’s body to the left, making what appeared to be a perfect play to secure an easy bucket at the rim. With White, however, there is no such thing as an easy bucket.
White turned his body and arm in the air and reached out to push the ball away from O’Neale, win an acrobatic block and one of his best of the season.
White averages an absurd 1.2 blocks per game from the point guard position. As of Saturday night, that average was the highest in the NBA among players 6-foot-7 and under. Keep in mind that white people are only 6 feet 4 inches tall.
While the whites potential All-Star candidacy came and went with little more than a whisper outside of New England, the Celtics guard has a legitimate chance to earn a first-team All-Defense nod this season. Saturday’s block alone should increase those chances.
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