Derrick White Discusses Playing for Joe Mazzulla, Welcoming Blake Griffin, and Working Alongside Malcolm Brogdon

Now, more acclimated and having refined his shooting mechanics, White's excited about his second season in Boston.

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In Sunday's 134-93 win against the Hornets, Derrick White got the start and finished with seven points on 3/6 shooting, four assists, and four rebounds in 17:32 of playing time.

Tuesday, when asked about whether he'll remain a part of the starting unit while Robert Williams is out, White shared the following.

"I feel like we can do a lot of different things, so whether I start or don't start, (they) haven't really told me per se, but whatever it is, I've just got to go out there and compete and do what I need to do to help us win."

Sunday also represented Joe Mazzulla's first game as the Celtics' head coach. White said of the experience from a player's perspective, "it's been great. He's doing a good job of communicating with everybody, talking about what he's looking for, (and) how we can be better, so he's doing a great job communicating with everybody, and everybody feels good." 

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Regarding Boston's recent signing of Blake Griffin, while he's arriving before the start of the regular season as opposed to at the trade deadline like White did, it's still a hectic transition, and it's happening shortly before the 2022-23 campaign gets underway.

Monday, Griffin expressed his appreciation for how welcoming the Celtics have been to him, something White experienced upon his arrival to Boston, and he's making sure to pay it forward to his newest teammate.

"Everybody here's very welcoming. When I came here, everybody was really helpful and welcomed me into the city and onto the team, so I'm trying to do the same for him."

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White's also excited about working alongside another of the Celtics' offseason additions, Malcolm Brogdon. The veteran guard registered 11 points, a game-high nine assists, and five rebounds in his Boston debut.

"It's been great. He's a great player, (he) does a lot of different things out there, and he makes the game easier for a lot of people, so the times that we were together in practice felt good, and I like playing with him."

Sunday's win also saw Mazzulla experiment with a four-guard lineup and playing Jayson Tatum at center. Those options speak to Boston's versatility, the preseason representing a chance to test out options at lesser stakes, and regarding the latter, something the Celtics might utilize to generate more scoring while managing minutes at center. 

Touching on both lineups, White relayed, "that small lineup was kind of crazy. I haven't ever really worked on something like that before, but that's a credit to this team and the depth we have, we can do a lot of different things, and once everybody starts getting back, we can go big as well, so there's a lot of exciting things and a lot of fun rotations for the coaches to play with."

And after the worst three-point shooting season of his career (31.2 percent), including converting on just 30.6 percent of his 4.2 long-range attempts after coming to Boston, White made minor tweaks to his shooting mechanics.

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Discussing how it felt to get game reps with those adjustments, despite going 1/4 from beyond the arc, his process was sound, but he just didn't get the results he wanted.

White conveyed, "it felt good. The first three felt really good, they just didn't go in (but were) online. The fourth one went in, so they felt good and (I've) just got to keep putting up good shots."

Further Reading

Joe Mazzulla Provides Update on Robert Williams, Discusses Getting Blake Griffin Acclimated, and Sheds Light on Plan for Wednesday's Preseason Game

Blake Griffin Shares His Initial Impressions of New Celtics' Head Coach Joe Mazzulla

Top 5 Plays from Celtics Win vs. Hornets in Preseason Opener

Here's What Stood Out in Celtics' 134-93 Drubbing of Hornets in Preseason Opener

Marcus Smart Discusses Blake Griffin Signing, His Role as a Team Leader, and His Offseason Focus

Celtics Showing Interest in Multiple Former Head Coaches (Report)

Here's What Stands Out About the Celtics' Schedule