The Miami Heat begged their diehard fans for a ´White Out´ at home in Game 4 of their NBA playoff series against the Boston Celtics. Surely there were heaps of flashy white clothes in the Kaseya Center, but they only served to light a fire under a certain C named Derrick White. The Celtics sharpshooter connected on eight 3s in the game, along with a couple of thunderous dunks. White´s career-high 38 points helped Boston banish the Heat, despite the temporary loss of willow tree Kristaps Porzingis to a calf strain.
Why’s Celtics Guard Derrick White Suddenly So Wicked?
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Everything went the way of Celtics guard Derrick White on the night. His luck even included a nifty deflection using his head. Derrick´s smoothly shaved pate blocked a pass from the normally steady Heat hitman Tyler Herro. Al Horford scooped up the loose ball who then zipped it to Tatum who snapped it back to a rambling White. ´The Buffalo´ (he played for Colorado in college) drilled yet another tasty trifecta.
Meanwhile, Miami could only connect on a woeful nine 3s—in the entire contest, no less. That just doesn´t cut it in the modern NBA folks. In fact, White almost outscored the whole Miami team, 18 points to 24, in the first stanza. To be fair, the Heat were shadows of their former selves, and their salvation in the form of buckets, alias Jimmy ´Buckets´ Butler, never arrived in the series. In consolation, Butler looked regal in street clothes on the bench.
The continuous improvement of Celtics stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who´s worked hard on his handle to reduce his turnovers, has been huge for Boston. Brown´s errant ballhandling proved to be the prior undoing of the Celtics, with Jaylen coughing the ball up no fewer than eight times, all by his lonesome, in Gm. 6 versus the GS Warriors as the Celtics bit the bullet at home in the 2022 Finals.
Now, besides new pieces Jrue Holiday and Porzingis, White has been nothing short of wicked: defending, dishing dimes in all directions, and raining 3s.
Gregg Popovich: “I Couldn´t Be More Proud of Derrick White”
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Gregg Popovich, record-breaking NBA and USA hoops headman, watched White up close and personal for more than four years. Derrick White was drafted by San Antonio back in 2017, and just after the NBA trade deadline in ´22, he was snapped up by the Celtics. In exchange, the Spurs scored Romeo Langford, Josh Richardson, and a first-round selection. (Bonus points to anybody who knows where these characters are nowadays!)
According to Justin Leger at Yahoo Sports, the legendary coach exclaimed:
I just couldn’t be more proud of a player.
Popovich purred (even though Grammarly tells us ´prouder´ would be more appropriate, Coach):
When he first came, I don’t think he believed he belonged in the NBA. And to watch him develop through the years here, starting with the G League and playing with us and then starting for us and then taking more steps in Boston, has just been a thrill to watch.
He’s one of the greatest guys ever, and his confidence has just exploded. It’s been a process. He’s been in the league six, seven years? I’m not sure anymore, but he’s a great story. Starting out at the bottom and believing in himself and doing the work necessary to get where he is now. So, just thrilled for him.
Popovich toiled this past season with a sputtering Spurs team, despite all the hype surrounding the outsized newcomer from France, Wembanyama. But if you should ever doubt Pop´s pedigree, just look at all those titles he hauled in with Sergeant David Robinson, terrifying Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, the masterful Manu Ginobili, et al.
It´s Raining 3s in Beantown!
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Indeed, confidence comes quickly when you´re connecting on more than 50 percent of your 3s. Sam Hauser, ´Playoff Jrue´ Holiday, Al Horford, Porzingis (if he´s at least mostly healthy in time for some of the second knockout round against the Cavs), Payton Pritchard, and the aforementioned Tatum all seem to live and die by the three. But Brown, Tatum, Pritchard, and Derrick White himself can all get to the cup with alarming ease too, with Big Al always lurking for the leisurely dunk.
Wicked is a word often used in New England to describe crazy fun people are enjoying. After all, the Boston Celtics are the toast of a region that stretches from the Mass line all the way to the wilds of Maine.
Derrick White quipped after his Game five fireworks:
For me personally, that’s when I’m at my best—when I’m having fun out there. Just having fun with my teammates, wherever it might be. Whether I’m supporting them or they’re supporting me. Just out there having fun, just messing around, but also realizing this is a big moment we’re all locked into.
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Wily hoops and soccer writer Will Beebe has been a Boston fan since he was a kid, for better or worse. His recent book, Soccer Giants of Brazil: One American´s Take on Samba Soccer Culture, is now on Amazon. www.soccergaintsofbrazil.com | Connect with Will on X: @WABeebe11.
