Celtics’ Derrick White Excited To Guard Mavericks’ Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving

The national narrative surrounding the Celtics is that they’ve had an easy path to the NBA Finals.

In fact, some analysts have even said Boston wouldn’t get past the Dallas Mavericks or Minnesota Timberwolves, regardless of which team came out of the Western Conference.

The Celtics made quick work of the Indiana Pacers and waited until Thursday night to find out they would, in fact, be battling the Mavericks for the title.

Despite the narrative, Boston swept the two regular-season meetings between the clubs. The playoffs are definitely more intense than regular-season matchups, but the Celtics beat the Mavs 119-110 in the January 22 meeting without Kristaps Porzingis in the lineup and 138-110 with the Boston center. Good news for the C’s — Porzingis returned to practice on Saturday for the first time since Game 4 of the first round against the Miami Heat.

To get past the Mavericks, Derrick White will have to put his All-Defensive Second Team skills on display that helped Boston form the best defensive backcourt in the league. Along with Jrue Holiday and Jaylen Brown, White will more than likely be tasked with guarding the dynamic duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

White is excited for the challenge of guarding the pair of world-class scorers.

“That’s the fun thing about being a guard in the NBA,” White said on Saturday, per NBA-provided video. “Every night, it’s somebody different, and obviously, Kyrie and Luka are at the top of that list. This is what you want. You want to play. This is what you dream about as a kid. It’s the NBA Finals; it’s going to be a challenge. We just got to be up for it, and it’s gonna be a lot of fun.”

In Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals, White showed exactly why he is the best shot-blocking guard in the NBA. He became just the third guard in NBA history with four-plus blocks in a conference finals game, joining Dwayne Wade and Jim Jackson.

The Celtics will host the Mavericks on June 6 for Game 1. Tip-off from TD Garden is set for 8:30 p.m. ET and will air on ABC.