A fast look across the interwebs on their views of the Boston Celtics strikes on the NBA trade deadline.
The Celtics cashed of their first spherical choose and wage filler for a guard in Derrick White. The 27-year-old has made a pleasant leap as a playmaker this season, posting a career-best help charge, which ought to assist a Boston group in main want of extra passing. The Spurs have been going nowhere this yr, so salvaging a primary spherical choose that must be round No. 20 in alternate for White is good enterprise by the Spurs. San Antonio ought to now have three first spherical picks on this draft with their very own, Boston’s, and Toronto’s. If White can lean into being extra a connecting piece between Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, this may very well be a pleasant win for Boston. White can also be a tenacious backcourt defender who ought to make the Celtics protection much more intimidating.
I really like this pickup for the Celtics. Boston has been struggling to place collectively some depth of their backcourt. Dennis Schröder has not been the reply, and when is the final time you felt constantly good about Payton Pritchard getting minutes? Exterior of Jaylen Brown and Marcus Good, there simply hasn’t been sufficient competence throughout the Celtics’ backcourt. That’s the place Derrick White is available in. He’s precisely the kind of participant the Celtics have to sprinkle in, and his versatility means you may get away with beginning him or bringing him first off the bench.
His three-point capturing is down this yr (White has been significantly wretched from the nook), however as a 3rd, fourth or fifth choice in most lineups he’ll have a beat longer to launch spot-up appears. He made 37% of his catch-and-shoot threes final yr and 39% in 2020. The Celtics have mauled opponents with their dual-big beginning 5, however down the stretch of shut video games (and maybe full-time within the playoffs, relying on who they face), White is good subsequent to Marcus Good, Brown, Tatum and Williams. White is a scrappy, intuitive defender who doesn’t thoughts sacrificing his physique. He’ll match properly onto a Celtics group that switches greater than every other within the league. Boston’s high seven is now as full and versatile as any within the convention, with way more certainty going ahead than they’d yesterday.
He’s form of like a extra sedate Good: a robust 6-foot-4 combo guard who can deal with defensive assignments throughout a number of positions, and who’s not a point-god-level facilitator on offense however can comfortably deal with the ball and run secondary actions. He may not provide the identical north-south pop as Dennis Schröder (extra on him in a minute), and he may not be as a lot of a risk to knock down a catch-and-shoot 3 as Payton Pritchard, however he’s extra dependable—a steadier choice to have on the ground towards actually good opponents, particularly within the context of a playoff sequence. And with three extra assured years on his deal, White suits neatly into the core of a Celtics group whose most essential contributors are all 27 and underneath, and all locked up for at the least two extra seasons.
Moreover, White is an amazing perimeter defender who can guard a number of positions and can match proper in on a Celtics group that has leaned on its protection this season. On this latest 13-4 run, the Celtics have a 99.7 defensive score which is high of the league and practically 5 factors per 100 possessions higher than every other group throughout that span. They’re fully smothering groups, and can now be even higher. White and Good will probably be maybe the most effective defensive backcourt within the league.
Ultimately, although, it’s important to respect the expertise play from the Celtics. They’ve the our bodies to stay a defensive terror and didn’t give up any cornerstone belongings. If White hits his threes at a better clip or can shoulder extra of the half-court floor-general burden, Boston will come out of this commerce smelling like a rose—and poised to trigger a ruckus in a wiiiiide-open Jap Convention.
