Derrick White Discusses Joining Elite Company in Game 1 Win vs. Cavaliers

Bobby Krivitsky | May 8, 2024

Dec 12, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics guard Derrick White (9) reacts after his three vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers. / David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

The Celtics set the tone for their Eastern Conference Semifinal series with the Cavaliers by delivering a 120-95 haymaker in Game 1 at TD Garden.

Adding to the impressive nature of Tuesday's win was how easily the hosts overcame Jayson Tatum's shooting struggles. The five-time All-Star finished with 18 points on 19 shots.

A significant reason why that didn't matter was Derrick White delivering 25 points, burying 7/12 threes. That included drilling 4/6 triples in a third frame where the TD Garden faithful thunderously chanted his name.

"I think I'm getting pretty good looks," said White after the victory. "And then obviously, you make a couple, the basket gets a little bigger, and you kind of take and make tougher ones. I definitely started the game with some good looks and then just went from there."

He's now made 20 threes in his last three games. According to NBC Sports Boston's stats guru Dick Lipe, the only other players in NBA playoff history with at least that many makes from beyond the arc in a three-game stretch are Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Damian Lillard, and Jamal Murray.

Jaylen Brown, who relentlessly attacked the rim to the tune of a team-high 32 points, expressed the following of the correlation between Boston consistently winning when White takes a high volume of shots, as he did on Tuesday, hoisting 16 and making nine.

"We just go over certain reads; in practice all the time, I see him on the side, always working on the type of shots that he knows he's gonna get," voiced Brown. 

"We got certain actions, and those actions, he's mastered them, like where the shots come from. So, it's almost like practice for him because he shoots those shots over and over again. If a guy goes under, if a guy's out of position. Derrick White feels confident, and he takes those shots, and he makes those shots."

When Tatum arrived at the podium post-game, he conveyed about the former Colorado Buffalo's impact: "I love the way he's been playing on both ends of the floor. It just puts a lot of pressure on the defense tonight and last series. We've got a lot of different ways to win a game, and it's tough for the other team to kinda try and figure that out."

As for White's head coach, a day after the seventh-year guard discussed Joe Mazzulla empowering him in what's been a career season, the Celtics' bench boss noted the importance of him playing aggressively. 

"It's important because it means – usually, the shots that he takes are because we are out in transition, we set really good screens, and he has that, or there are two-on-ones, and we're making the right passes. I think when those guys get more and more shots, it means we're getting to the different layers of our offense, which is important against a team like this."

On Tuesday, White's aggressive play and ability to thrive within the flow of the offense, then make significant contributions at the other end, including helping Boston limit the Cavaliers to 11/42 (26.2%) shooting from beyond the arc, were crucial elements of a decisive, tone-setting victory.