The Boston Celtics were missing most of their rotation on Wednesday night. Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, Al Horford, and Sam Hauser were sidelined, leaving the likes of Jayson Tatum, Payton Pritchard, and Baylor Scheierman to carry the load. (The rookie enjoyed his best game as a pro.) Derrick White was active, too, but he had a significantly less fun night.
White got the start alongside Tatum, Drew Peterson, Neemias Queta, and Luke Kornet and was looking to build off his 41-point performance against the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday. However, Kelly Oubr Jr. had other plans for the Celtics guard.
And the plans weren’t fun.
Derrick White gives injury update on lost tooth
Midway through the second quarter, Oubre was driving to the basket for a layup, and White was guarding him. But when Oubre went up for the shot, his elbow came back down and nailed White in the face.
Immediately, White cupped his face with his hand and began scouring the ground. He picked something up and went right back to the locker room. It was his fake tooth—the same one that he lost in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
White ended up reentering the game in the third quarter after Celtics PR announced that he was probable to return due to a “dental injury.” And after the game, he gave an update on what happened. (H/t Khari Thompson of Boston.com)
“So, I got hit in the face,” White explained. “But, they were temporary and I was supposed to go in by like two weeks ago, but I kept pushing it off to get like my permanent ones. But I’m going to go tomorrow.”
Apparently, White was supposed to get permanent replacement teeth a couple of weeks ago but kept putting off the appointment. So, the temporary teeth that fell out during the game against the Philadelphia 76ers were able to be popped right back in.
“Luckily they were like right there and I picked them up,” White said. “Then we went to the back and I was trying to debate how I would go back and then got some glue and I put the mouthpiece on and we were good to go.”
White finished the game with 12 points, three rebounds, and six assists while shooting 4-of-14 from the field and 2-of-10 from beyond the arc.
With how many injuries the Celtics are dealing with at the moment, it’s good to hear that White’s tooth debacle doesn’t seem to be a long-term issue.
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