Joe Mazzulla twice expressed regret over not playing Derrick White in fourth quarters this month. While admitting he would make mistakes as a rookie head coach, he acknowledged few, making those rotation choices definitive moments where he would’ve made a different decision.
“It’s probably a coaching fault of mine,” Mazzulla said. “Yesterday, I probably should’ve had him in at the end of the game. When we have the majority of our roster, balancing that out and trying to get the best players on the floor is important. Rewatching it today, there definitely should’ve been moments where we had him on the floor. When he’s on the floor, we’re a really good team and we need him to be confident and aggressive on both ends.”
The latest instance, last week’s loss to the Jazz, saw Sam Hauser, Mike Muscala and Luke Kornet all log minutes as Boston tried to play big and match Utah’s rebounding. Mazzulla also sat White from the beginning of the fourth quarter until the closing minutes of double-overtime when the Celtics lost to New York at home on Mar. 5.
White, who had the third-best season on the Celtics alongside Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum as it nears a conclusion, reached 37 minutes in wins over the Kings and Pacers that set Boston straight after their road trip struggles. White scored 42 points with 11 rebounds and 21 assists on 13-for-28 shooting, hitting 10-of-19 from three.
His blend of scoring, guarding and passing proved crucial through each game he started this year, while his time on the bench looked like lost opportunity, setting Mazzulla up for difficult decisions after White became must-play entering the postseason. Ime Udoka alluded to the same upside of playing him often, saying Boston doesn’t lose much going from Smart to White. This year, they can pair both, and White could be the best of three options.
Friday’s win provided opportunities for the Celtics to put the ball in White’s hands and play him extended minutes next to Smart, who he now paired with for 407 minutes in 33 games while outscoring opponents by 13.8 points per 100 possessions and reaching elite offensive heights by scoring 124.0 points per 100.
Smart, White, Brown, Tatum and Al Horford laid the groundwork for the team’s 21-5 start led by scoring, and they clearly had more time than last year’s starting unit with Robert Williams III in place of White. It seems clear White will start for the rest of the season, but that doesn’t guarantee his consistent involvement.
“I think it goes back to the way Smart pushes the pace,” Mazzulla said. “When Smart gets out in early transition and forces cross matches, it really gets us going. So I think it starts with him and getting us organized, and I think it goes to Jaylen and Jayson, when those two guys are finding the Smarts, the Derricks, the Als for catch-and-shoot opportunities, it allows for them to be comfortable.”
“So I think it’s just a team connected dynamic, of we’re very conscious of our spacing and we’re very conscious of playing the right way, and I think everybody reaps the benefits from that. Smart only took three shots today, but his potential assists and what he did to get us into early offense isn’t on the stat sheet, and when Derrick is that aggressive because of those things, we’re a different team.”
Analytics say White not only ranks among the best Celtics players this year, but any NBA player period. His 119.6 offensive rating ranks third behind Tatum and Horford, while his 109.5 defensive rating only trails Williams III among every day players on the team. The Celtics give up 5.8 fewer points per 100 possessions when he’s on compared to off, which ranks in the 90th percentile among players in the league.
538’s RAPTOR rating ranks him 19th in the league with a +5.0 rating, +2.3 on offense and +2.7 on defense. His on-off RAPTOR (+6.6) ranks eighth. The counting stats add up too, White averaging 12.3 PPG, 3.5 RPG and 4.0 APG on 46.1% shooting, hitting 38.2% of his threes and fulfilling the team’s hope that playing around premier offensive players would free him to score. That set him up for open threes and mismatches against Indiana.
“I always tell him, I love when D.White’s being aggressive,” Brown said. “I’m always looking for him. When D.White’s aggressive, it changes the dynamic of our team. It opens the game a little bit. I’m always looking for D.White, and any time he’s got it, it’s going to be good for our team.”
White found Tatum in transition following a stop for Boston’s first score on Friday, finished an inside-out passing sequence, then attacked Aaron Nesmith off the dribble for a three-point play to put the Celtics up 20-17 late in the first quarter.
This season, White’s screening ability, which the team unlocked during the East Finals, helped inspire his transition to the starting lineup in place of the injured Williams III. His shooting, thanks to subtle adjustments from assistant coach Ben Sullivan and his trainer Marcus Mason to reduce the lean in his release, became the team’s biggest surprise on its way to finishing 40% from three through 26 games. White shot 42.7% on 4.2 attempts per game during that stretch.
“He’s grown a lot here,” Tyrese Haliburton told CLNS Media. “He’s gotten a lot better since early in my career, playing him in San Antonio. I feel like the offense is more open for him, more space to attack, he’s doing a great job getting to the free throw line. He’s just a great complementary piece for those guys.”
His presence helped Malcolm Brogdon transition to the bench unit every night. White helped immensely when Smart missed time with numerous ailments this season. When they all became available, finding closing combinations challenged Mazzulla and the Brogdon-Smart pair emerged as a default.
Brogdon and White thrived as a second unit in recent weeks, now a +5.7, with Smart and White up to +11.8. Opponents outscored Brogdon and Smart. As important as Brogdon’s addition proved, he may need to sacrifice again in the big moments to allow Brogdon to play. The same goes for Smart on the nights where he doesn’t have it.
White likely went to the bench because of his amicable reception to fewer minutes. He and Williams III don’t care about how often they play, Brogdon already took a step back and Smart emerged within the leadership structure of the team in recent seasons, rarely sitting. Brown and Tatum need to take the floor in crunch time, with either one or two centers, or one or two guards.
That leaves somebody on the bench. Against Minnesota, White sat while a nine-point lead dwindled. He averaged 26.1 minutes per game in the first five games back from the break. After Mazzulla admitted he made a mistake against New York, White said he didn’t need a conversation with Mazzulla.
The course correction began in Sacramento. He guarded Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner while the Celtics switched more aggressively. Williams III supported him into the bench unit, with Brogdon playing 21 minutes against Sacramento, then White found his big man with the perfect alley-oop against the Pacers.
He played in long passing sequences and prioritized paint touches, rarely making a mistake while averaging 1.1 turnovers per game. White does everything Mazzulla wants them to do, and could be their barometer for a title, pushing them closer with each style, charge take, extra pass and especially each aggressive take to the basket.
“D.White is the ultimate teammate, and he’s a hell of a basketball player. Extremely smart on both ends of the floor, can create, he can pass, can shoot and can be too unselfish sometimes. Just encouraging him to be aggressive, be himself, just makes us a much better team.”
