Derrick White Details Inspiration Behind Tactic Boosting Celtics' Offense

Bobby Krivitsky | 21 Hours Ago

Jan 25, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Boston Celtics guard Derrick White (9) grabs a rebound against Miami Heat forward Haywood Highsmith (24) during the first quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Derrick White followed up a career year with a gold medal experience where he got to test himself against some of basketball's best and study the habits of future Hall of Famers like LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Stephen Curry.

As White aims for an encore that tops last season's All-Star-caliber campaign, the all-around impact that makes him so valuable was on display in Abu Dhabi.

The former Colorado Buffalo put 13 points on the board, fared 5/10 from the field, dished out a game-high six assists, grabbed five rebounds, and swiped a steal in his 23 minutes on the floor at Etihad Arena on Sunday.

Two of his five boards extended possessions for a Celtics team that puts a premium on crashing the glass to help win on the margins.

TFW the teacher realizes they shouldn't have sat you and your friend next to each other in class 🤣

… petition to have @jaytatum0 and @Dwhite921 do every press conference together pic.twitter.com/IzNxefcXfd

— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) October 6, 2024

"Create plays," said White when asked about that facet of his game after Boston's 130-104 win over the Nuggets on Sunday. "Any chance we can get an extra possession or steal a possession, we've got to take advantage of it. I watched Payton (Pritchard) have a lot of success with this last year, and I thought I would try it."

Last season, Joe Mazzulla told Boston Celtics on SI of the two-fold value of his team consistently crashing the offensive glass, "If you watch our playoff series against Atlanta, we never beat them on the shot margins. So, the corner crashes are two-fold: one, it gives us extra possessions, it's momentum plays, and then it also starts our transition defense because guys aren't getting stuck in the corner, and we're not in five on four or five on three early in the shot clock.

"So, it's a huge part of both our offense and our transition defense. So, it's something that we just have to continue to grow at."

White extended a possession per playoff game on average during Boston's championship run. Whether combing through his regular or postseason stats, it marks a personal best.

It's an approach that helps the Celtics at both ends of the court and a tactic White utilized to positively influence outcomes and aid his team in taking more shots than its playoff competition.

While it's a small preseason sample size, his performance in that capacity against Denver indicates that, if anything, he'll be even more aggressive in attacking the offensive glass in the upcoming campaign.