3 takeaways from Boston Celtics thriller win over Nuggets 108-102!
Boston Celtics takeaway No. 1) Derrick White is a Celtic!
Derrick White checked into the game and received an ovation from Boston Celtics fans, excited to see what his new addition could mean for the team.
He did not disappoint, with a staunch defensive presence and silky smooth playmaking touch which made for a treat to watch.
A couple of nightly notables may be that he has the quickest shot release on the C’s and may already be their most talented passer. White’s debut came with fireworks, leading the Celtics on a 13-0 run with eight quick first-quarter points.
The 6-4 guard’s first play as a Celtic was a lob pass to Jaylen Brown to finish a fast break. A culmination of what we have been looking for — a natural pass-first guard to set the Jays up for success.
Any opportunity to not have Tatum or Brown bring up the ball is a good basketball decision. They are not meant to be “point forwards”.
The offense needed to be simplified and it’ll come with actual ball-handling guards bringing up the rock.
Most of our best possessions offensively came on the tail end of fantastic ball movement starting with Smart or White initiating the flow.
The former Spur would finish the night with 15 points, none bigger than a dagger inside score off of a sly assist from Brown.
The 27-year-old logged 28 minutes and was a team-high +11 off the bench.
I’m not going to touch on this too much, but White does nearly everything better than Richardson.
Better on-ball defender, off-ball defender, and I personally believe a better shooter given the countless open looks he will get from the Jays kicking out of double teams.
J-Rich also was not on the level of playmaker that White is at the moment, averaging nearly six assists a contest.
I love Josh, but this is an upgrade.
The difference was on the Spurs, there was no one drawing double teams and therefore this led to fewer open shots for Derrick, a guy who shot a blistering 48 percent on corner treys last season.
A rough shooting season makes sense with this context.
Unlike Celtics Blog writer, Neil Iyer, we at HH do not feel that the Derrick White trade was a disaster.
In fact, we had him as a primary target during the trade deadline and are happy he bleeds green now.