Derrick White Details Inspiration Behind Tactic Boosting Celtics' Offense

"Create plays," said White when asked about that facet of his game after Boston's 130-104 win over the Nuggets on Sunday. "Any chance we can get an extra possession or steal a possession, we've got to take advantage of it. I watched Payton (Pritchard) have a lot of success with this last year and I thought I would try it."

Last season, Joe Mazzulla told Boston Celtics on SI of the two-fold value of his team consistently crashing the offensive glass, "If you watch our playoff series against Atlanta, we never beat them on the shot margins. So, the corner crashes are two-fold: one, it gives us extra possessions, it's momentum plays, and then it also starts our transition defense because guys aren't getting stuck in the corner, and we're not in five on four or five on three early in the shot clock.

"So, it's a huge part of both our offense and our transition defense. So, it's something that we just have to continue to grow at."

White extended a possession per playoff game on average during Boston's championship run. Whether combing through his regular or postseason stats, it marks a personal best.

It's an approach that helps the Celtics at both ends of the court, and a tactic White utilized to positively influence outcomes and aid his team in taking more shots than its playoff competition.

While it's a small, preseason sample size, his performance in that capacity against Denver indicates that if anything, he'll be even more aggressive in attacking the offensive glass in the upcoming campaign.