During the Eastern Conference finals, Derrick White admitted it wasn’t the most seamless transition trying to fit in to an already well-established Celtics team when he was traded to Boston mid-season.
It’s hard to think that was even a possibility given the way White has molded perfectly into the rotation recently during Boston’s playoff run, including a sensational performance off the bench in Game 1 of the NBA Finals with White dropping in 21 points on 6-for-11 shooting in a 120-108 victory for the Celtics over the Golden State Warriors.
Al Horford was even surprised to learn that White felt out of place when he initially joined the Celtics when a reporter brought it up to Horford following Game 1. And for Horford, a 15-year NBA veteran who brings the Celtics loads of leadership, he vowed to make sure White knows not only how critical he is to the team, but how accepted he is by his teammates.
“I wasn’t aware of that,” Horford told reporters, per NBC Sports Boston video. “We love Derrick, what he’s brought to our group, his energy, his commitment to working hard. He continues to work no matter how it’s going for him individually, he continues to prepare and we have a lot of confidence in him. So, thank you for telling me that. I’ll make sure I address it. And it’s something that he just needs to go out there and play. We have the most confidence in him and he was huge for us tonight, just his confidence, his energy was really good for us.”
What White felt when the Celtics acquired him at the trade deadline from the San Antonio Spurs potentially could have impacted his play on the floor during the beginning of his Celtics’ tenure. White struggled especially shooting the ball, hitting just 30.6% of his 3-point attempts during 26 regular-season games with the Celtics.
White now looks like a completely different player, and one who is brimming with confidence. Since the Eastern Conference finals, White has knocked down 41.4% of his shots from beyond the arc and is averaging 11.6 points per game, including going for more than 20 points in two out Boston’s last three contests.
White’s teammates certainly understand how vital he is the team, and have his back.
“Derrick is such a smart basketball player, he could fit in anywhere,” Jayson Tatum said per MassLive’s Souichi Terada. “I’m glad we got him. But he just knows how to play the right way on both ends of the floor. Just kept it going as soon as we got him.”
