With the United States side needing an injury replacement for Stephen Curry in the All-Star Game, there was some hope that the league might appoint Steph’s Olympic teammate, Derrick White, but that was not the case.
Instead, Adam Silver and the NBA chose Brandon Ingram for the final All-Star spot, joining his Raptors teammate, Scottie Barnes, on the squad. That means the Raptors, who are currently in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, have two All-Stars, while the Celtics, who are tied for second place in the same conference, have just one.
Ingram’s counting stats are better almost across the board, and he has even been more efficient, but there are no guidelines for these commissioner's picks, and the advanced metrics all lean towards White.
Celtics fans already know how much Derrick impacts winning and everything he does on both ends of the floor. Sure, he’s not having a great year shooting the ball, but he is doing everything else for a team that is overachieving more than any other in the league this season.
A vote for Derrick White would have been a vote for winning
The Raptors have had a nice season, but it’s hard to justify that team getting two All-Stars, whereas the Celtics, at 34-19, have just one in Jaylen Brown. Jaylen is having an MVP-caliber season and carrying a ridiculous burden, but D-White has stepped up and taken on a bigger role on offense while remaining one of the best defenders in the NBA.
Adam Silver could have easily taken a stance and chosen to reward one of the best winners in the league, a champion, an Olympic gold medalist, and a two-time All-Defense guy, but instead, he went with BI and his high points per game, despite the fact that he has never driven winning in his career.
Seeing White rewarded for all of his hard work would have been cool for sure, but ultimately, this isn’t a huge deal and shouldn’t be a surprise. White and the Celtics should be plenty used to getting disrespected by now, and this latest slight is just one more piece of bulletin board material for a team that has been fueled by that kind of stuff ever since Jayson Tatum went down with an injury.
The Celtics have played with an undeniable chip on their collective shoulders this season, and there’s no question that Joe Mazzulla and his staff will find a way to use this as motivation going forward.