BOSTON — Even throughout Derrick White’s up-and-down postseason, especially on the offensive end of the floor, his teammates’ confidence in him never wavered.
Celtics players kept urging White to continue to play freely and be the player they know he’s capable of being, especially with the magnitude of the games only rising the further Boston advances in the postseason.
“Just to be himself,” Jayson Tatum said following Game 4 on what he’s been telling White. “Obviously, we knew how important this game was, and everybody just had to come out with a different sense of urgency.”
White took the messages not only from Tatum, but from other teammates to heart. Thrust into an enormous spot in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals on Monday night as he replaced an injured Marcus Smart in the starting lineup, White certainly looked more like himself.
White played a pivotal role in Boston’s 102-82 victory, tallying 13 points to go along with eight rebounds, six assists and three steals in 41 minutes, which was the most playing time for any member of the Celtics. For White, his performance was buoyed by the trust his teammates had in him after White scored three points combined in the two previous games he played this series.
“The team has done a great job of just being like, ‘Be you,'” White said. “Smart said it to me this morning. Rob (Williams) said it (too). I just got to do that. So, that makes it a lot easier.”
White went into attack mode early and it paid off for him. He scored the team’s first seven points as part of an 18-1 run to begin the game and finished off the first quarter with 10, nearly outscoring the entire Heat team that produced 11 points in the opening frame.
“I said it this morning, if I was going to fail, I’m going to do it aggressively,” White said. “Just trying to get back to how I play, and obviously got off to a good start and just try to keep going for 48 minutes.”
Robert Williams said he has tried to make White feel included since the Celtics acquired the guard at the trade deadline from the San Antonio Spurs.
While there certainly have been growing pains, White fit right in during Game 4.
“Just let him know he can be comfortable with us. Let him know he’s welcomed. I tried to do that since the day he got here,” Williams said. “It’s hard, especially middle of the season to come to the team, you see guys laughing, joking, playing. He’s the new guy. So, I just try to let him know we’re thankful for him. You’re welcomed to this brotherhood.”
