His fantastic play is flying under the radar.
The first round series between the Boston Celtics and the Orlando Magic has been chaotic. Jayson Tatum missed the first playoff game of his career, Kristaps Porzingis had his forehead sliced open, Jaylen Brown dislocated his finger, and through it all, Derrick White has been a calming influence.
I can’t call Derrick White’s 18 points, 7 assists, and 7 rebounds in Game 4 quiet. His fingerprints were all over some of the loudest plays in the Celtics’ win over the Magic, like his layup to put the Celtics up five with 6:21 to go in the game.
Derrick White has an uncanny ability to give the game exactly what it needs. There have been stretches in this series where the Celtics offense has been stuck in the mud, which shouldn’t be a surprise, considering the Orlando Magic had the second overall ranked defense in the regular season. Kristaps Porzingis has been the Celtic most affected by the Magic physical D, so the Celtics responded by opening Game 4 with a little bit of Derrick White-Kristaps Porzingis pick-and-roll magic.
In a series where points are hard to come by in the half court, getting Porzingis going in the half-court was a welcome development. Before Game 4, KP had yet to hit a three-point shot. Guess who fed him for his first trey ball of the post-season? Our good friend, Derrick White
In Game 4, every time the Magic seemed to be creating some momentum, Derrick White was there, as he often is, to ease the tightness of Celtic fans’ sphincters worldwide. Back breaking three point shots have become a D White staple. Game 4 was no different, with D White popping off for two threes late in the game.
Derrick has been so reliable, and hit so many big shots over the last two seasons, that it was hard to believe he actually missed a three-pointer in the fourth quarter of Game 4.
In Game 2, Jaylen Brown stole the headlines for his monstrous performance. Rightly so, as JB poured in 36 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists. After Game 4, Jayson Tatum was the headliner. Rightly so, as JT closed the game with 16 fourth-quarter points. Derrick was able to steal a couple of headlines after Game 1 for drilling seven three-pointers. But Derrick has been sprinkling his Derrick White pixie dust over every game in this first round series, giving the Celtics a little bit of everything. For the series, White is averaging 20.3 points, 5 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block, on 66.9% true shooting. Elite production, as per usual.