In Boston’s home opener against the Miami Heat, Derrick White gave Celtics fans one of his best NBA performances ever. The 29-year-old combo guard dropped 28 points on 9/15 shooting while canning five threes on seven attempts.
White put his two-way brilliance on full display in the 119-111 victory. He blocked future Hall-of-Famer Jimmy Butler thrice, including a vicious chase down swat in the closing minutes of the contest. Butler struggled to deal with White’s elite defense all night as he shot a porous 3/11 from the field for just 14 points.
Meanwhile, White had 14 points in the fourth quarter alone. He hit three huge 3-pointers in the process. White’s epic takeover brought the TD Garden crowd to its feet and helped the Celtics move to 2-0 on the young 2023-24 season.
Last year, White led all guards in total blocks with 76 regular-season rejections. He also played all 82 games and played 28.3 minutes per game. White put together one of the best shot-blocking campaigns in recent history for a guard and led the Celtics in on/off differential with a +9.3 mark, per Cleaning the Glass.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Derrick White, Boston Celtics Updates
After his domination of the Heat, White spoke to Cassidy Hubbarth of ESPN about the importance of Boston’s defensive mindset.
“That’s what it’s all about on the defensive end,” White said. “They’re a tough team to guard. They make you work for 48 minutes, so I knew if we wanted to win, we had to do it on this end … I got some good looks and knocked them down on the other end.”
Through the first two games of the season, White has averaged 20.0 points on 61.9% shooting from the field and 60.0% shooting from three. He also holds the league’s eighth-best true shooting percentage so far, with an incredible 78.7% mark.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Derrick White, Boston Celtics Updates
With 68 minutes through two outings, White will likely receive the most playing time of his career this season. The All-Defensive guard seems primed for a breakout campaign, and he should continue to thrive next to the most talented teammates of his career.
