Why is Derrick White’s recent triple-double good news for the Boston Celtics?
As they prepare to take on the Bucks, the Celtics will do so without several stars, but there’s one player who has picked up the slack in their absence.
In any sport and on any team, there are always key players. Guys who defend better than anyone else, produce more than anyone else, or simply inspire everyone else. This is all to say, that losing a player of such importance is never easy unless you’ve got a guy like Derrick White.
Derrick White is that guy
On Monday night, the Boston Celtics took on the Detroit Pistons without the help of Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday, Al Horford, and Sam Hauser. They did of course have Jaylen Brown, but they were also able to count on Derrick White who was more than impressive on the night. Where Brown was concerned, the 27-year-old put 31 points on the board to go with 7 rebounds and 3 assists. As for White, he added a further 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists for what marked his first career triple-double in a game that ended 119-94 in the Celtics’ favor.
With the win at the TD Garden, the men in green now have a 54-14 record and sit comfortably atop the Eastern Conference with a cushion of 10 games between themselves and the No. 2 seed. Who is second in the East with 14 games remaining? That would be the team that the Celtics will face on Tuesday night: the Milwaukee Bucks. To this end, one might be inclined to say that the game’s result will have little effect on the situation between the teams, however, expect both sides to go all out as they look to demonstrate superiority over the other.
Yet, we’ve got to bring it back to White. On the night, the 29-year-old was immense as he spread the ball around the perimeter constantly, while sinking shots himself. Indeed, by halftime, he had already put 17 points on the board along with 7 rebounds and 7 assists. With Tatum and Holiday out, it was clear that White was a man on a mission. Interestingly, you could see that his teammates understood that idea as well, with the large majority of them making the effort to shoot whenever receiving a pass from him as he inched closer to the triple-double mark. With that, the Celtics are on a 6-game win streak as they prepare to welcome the Bucks on Tuesday night. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. ET. Don’t miss it!