Prior to the Boston Celtics' battle with the Utah Jazz on Friday night, Derrick White was on JJ Redick's The Old Man and the Three podcast discussing what this season has been like and the leap the guard has made.
When the Celtics made their surprise transition for Kristaps Porzingis this offseason, the formula was in place. White was set to become the deserving lead guard as a 35-minute player, even after the acquisition of Jrue Holiday heading into training camp.
Since he took off last postseason, evolving with that historic Game 6 buzzer-beater, White has only continued to rise as Boston's new quarterback. The 29-year-old has kept showing his all-defensive prowess, along with being atop the NBA's plus-minus leaderboard.
White told Redick how the Celtics innovation has only helped him further develop.
"I mean honestly, when Smart got traded, it was like a shock, and then just like, 'oh, there's gonna be a lot more opportunity, and I'm gonna have to step up with the ball in my hands compared to last year,'" White said. "And then when we brought Jrue along, everybody was like, 'I mean, we still need you to be the same aggressive, and how we envisioned it before we got Jrue.' Just having both of those guys just spacing the floor."
Here in his second full season in Boston, as he has been on the rise, White talked about what Holiday's leadership and encouragement has meant to him.
"I feel like Jrue's just been like, the ultimate teammate," White said. "Like if I got it going or something, like he's willing to just stay in the corner and just space the floor for us and make a play whenever he needs to. Just having a guy like that that's willing to do that, who's an All-Star in this league, just kind of give me the trust to make a play. It's kind of unlocked my game a little bit, and I mean, obviously, when you're playing with JT and JB, they're getting a lot of attention, and then KP's gained so much attention that it kind of makes the game easier for me, and I'm just trying to make the right play."
In his last 15 games dating back to the start of December, White has averaged 20.2 points, 5.5 assists, and 4.1 rebounds, while shooting 51.2 percent from the field and 44.4 from three, with a true-shooting percentage of 67.7.
His mesmerizing play will propel Boston through the tough stretch of games ahead to further enhance his All-Star candidacy.
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