Can Derrick White make same transition Marcus Smart did for Boston Celtics?

Derrick White, after the offseason trading of Marcus Smart, is now going to step into the starting lead guard role. This is something that isn’t necessarily new for him, starting 70 games of the 82 he played last year. The difference going into this season is that he will most likely be spending more time as the actual point guard in this approaching season than the last. This bodes well for the Boston Celtics.

Last year White spent 71% of his time in the shooting guard role and nearly all the rest as the point guard. Both on-court stats are good but the point guard numbers are better. When playing the one White was a plus 15.7 compared to a plus 9.6 at the two, per Cleaning the Glass. Across the board, much of the stats follow the same pattern of good at shooting guard but better at point guard. Granted, plus-minus stats are always to be taken with a grain of salt, but regardless the trend is still there.

White of course has had to maneuver between the two positions before. And it’s not uncommon for many players to fill the combo spot one year, equally diving their time, only to then play one or other position more heavily the next and then maybe have it switch following that season. In San Antonio, White played point 100 percent of the time for San Antonio during 2018-2019 when teammate DeJounte Murray went down with an injury. The next year he played about two-thirds of his time back at shooting guard and then kept with about that distribution until now.

All of this matters because of one big offseason move the Boston Celtics made: Trading Smart. Smart was the team’s best passer and assist leader last year and losing his playmaking was one of the main criticisms of the deal. The question is, where is the offensive facilitation going to come from now?

The answer should be White.

Over his career, White has not been known as a big playmaker. In fact, his average assists for the year have never surpassed five a game. But keep in mind, neither was Smart until fairly recently. And even now, that’s not what he is really known for compared to the better passers of the league.

Smart also followed a similar trajectory to White as far as his positional playtime. He also spent the majority of his time playing shooting guard, however in college he was largely considered a point guard and playmaker. Only recently did Smart start spending most of his time as a point guard in the NBA, beginning with the 2022 season after the Boston Celtics traded Kemba Walker.

Now White finds himself in a very similar position. The full-time point guard is gone and he needs to fill the role. He is the only one that is capable and reliable enough to play the part. The stats are encouraging, he knows how to play as a lead ball-handling guard and he has done it before. Now it’s just a matter of if he can find the efficiency needed for this team and its two stars.

Derrick White is the glue holding the Boston Celtics together

White overall makes this Boston Celtics team make sense, both on and off the court. He is coming off the best season of his career at 29 years old and is still in his prime. Off the court, his contract is very team friendly at $18.36 and $19.57 million in 2024 and 2025 respectively.

His reliable play combined with a good value deal gives this team the window it currently has. It’s made its offseason deals, it has its roster, and now it’s time to roll the ball out and run.