In the Boston Celtics“Saturday evening, victory against the Phoenix Suns, Derrick White dominated the first quarter. The offense ran through him and he finished the game with six points, two rebounds and four assists on 3-of-5 shooting.
By halftime, his point total reached 10 and he was a perfect 5 of 5 from inside the three-point arc. He only turned the ball over once and in three quarters, he handed out eight assists.
During the first half of Boston’s loss to the Denver Nuggets, White had seven points, four rebounds and two assists on 3-of-6 shooting. In the third, he added three more dimes.
Against the Cleveland Cavaliersa game the Celtics should have closed out, White had three points, six rebounds and seven assists on 1-of-4 shooting in the first three quarters.
In the fourth three quarters of those games combined, White totaled zero points, three rebounds and two assists on 0-for-2 shooting from the floor.
White’s recent decline in shooting has slightly lessened his impact on the offense, but his pick-n-roll game has been one of the most effective scoring methods for the Celtics this season. Yet in three straight fourth quarters of NBA-defined “clutch” games, Boston pulled away from him.
For what?
Against the Suns, Jayson Tatum did a solid job organizing offensively. And against the Nuggets, the Celtics did much of their scoring in transition as Denver scrambled.
But when it came to the crunch time – the actual scoring minutes of the match – why was White relegated to off-ball play?
In the final five minutes of Boston’s loss to Denver, almost all of White’s touches came in transition. He brought the ball down the court, gave it up and became a catch-and-shoot option on the perimeter.
Against Cleveland and Phoenix, White was a little more involved, but it was far from his control early in the game against the Suns.
White’s chemistry with Luke Kornet, Kristaps Porzingis and Tatum is unmatched, and when they play at his pace, it translates almost exclusively into beautiful basketball.
End-of-game scenarios are very different from what happens in the first quarter. Defenses tighten, the game slows down and defensive pressure reaches a new level. But White has been one of the quietest players on the team all season.
In the clutch this year, White shot 14 of 27 (51.9%) from the field and 10 of 21 (47.6%) from distance. He scored 48 points, grabbed 16 rebounds, dished out eight assists, had a steal and blocked five shots, while committing just one turnover.
Does he benefit from the pressure teams put on Tatum, Porzingis and Jaylen Brown? Absolutely. But Boston should use that to their advantage rather than using him as a shooter.
Let White run the show more often. Obviously, Tatum, Brown and Porzingis will still get their share of touches late in games, but using them as decoys would allow White to thrive and, in turn, perhaps the Celtics’ closing offense could look a a little more under control. .
