This is ridiculously good defense. It’s almost unfair to have White and Smart on the same team.
Celtics trade Josh Richardson, Romeo Langford and a 1st round pick to Spurs for Derrick White
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Great stats but White def. strugggled against Butler. No shame there as Butler has three inches on him and went off on everyone (including a hobbled Deputy Marcus). But a bit cherry-picked.
Yeah, those "when X defended Y" stats are always cherrypicked, misleading, and bullshit.
But Derrick White is a really good player. Hoping that his upcoming Finals MVP performance will launch him into feeling comfortable in his role on the Celtics next year, and that he can become more of a scoring 6th man.
He’s as good as Smart on the perimeter against guards, but lacks the strength to guard guys like Jimmy. I suspect he will see a lot of time in the finals guarding Steph.
I would like to see him and Smart get more opportunities to penetrate and make Steph work defensively. One thing I thought they could’ve done more of against the Heat was take advantage of all the attention JT and JB got, and have Smart and White attack the hoop. It seemed like they got a lot of good looks at the rim when this happened, as they were hesitant to provide help and leave the Jays or Al open for 3, or TL for a lob.
I would like to see him and Smart get more opportunities to penetrate and make Steph work defensively. One thing I thought they could’ve done more of against the Heat was take advantage of all the attention JT and JB got, and have Smart and White attack the hoop. It seemed like they got a lot of good looks at the rim when this happened, as they were hesitant to provide help and leave the Jays or Al open for 3, or TL for a lob.
I don't know if I would say "cherry picked" as much as the stat proves your point. White is really good chasing guys on the perimeter but definitely was overmatched against Butler's physicality (I'm surprised Ime never gave him help but it worked out in the end). Good thing GSW doesn't have a Butler type on its roster.
His floater was money the last few games. I was glad to see him have confidence in driving to the basket as well as taking some wide open threes.
I was surprised he struggled as much as he did against Butler. I guess we can be glad we don’t still have Kemba
That would have been even worse
I was surprised he struggled as much as he did against Butler. I guess we can be glad we don’t still have Kemba
That would have been even worse
Maybe I shouldn’t have said “struggled” as White played fundamentally solid D against Butler. But Butler really had his way with him and the announcing crew noted that the Heat were hunting for that matchup.
If I had to guess it was at least partly a size and strength thing as Butler is listed at 6’7” 230 lbs and White is 6’4” 190 lbs. Marcus is listed as an inch shorter than White but 30 lbs heavier. So if I had to guess, had Marcus been fully healthy they probably match him up against Butler and have White take the second tier guys the stats show he abused. But given Marcus’s ankle, they couldn’t.
If I had to guess it was at least partly a size and strength thing as Butler is listed at 6’7” 230 lbs and White is 6’4” 190 lbs. Marcus is listed as an inch shorter than White but 30 lbs heavier. So if I had to guess, had Marcus been fully healthy they probably match him up against Butler and have White take the second tier guys the stats show he abused. But given Marcus’s ankle, they couldn’t.
You are spot on; it's entirely a size and strength thing. The way Butler plays, he just backs down White (and frankly any smaller player) to his sweet spot and then just goes up and over White. (And Pritchard too.) In a lot of these situations, White is good at slapping down on the ball, but Butler not only protects the ball really well, he's good at drawing the fouls so White didn't really try that against him.
I started getting excited when he started getting hot last series after months of being cold. We are hard to guard if he’s at all a threat.
I really hope White figured something out with his shot and even a half step down from this is sustainable.
He was simply built for this series. Literally the perfect addition to this club for minimal cost.
Tatum has so much gravity. White is going to get a ton of open looks over the next few years and would certainly be huge if he got a kickstart on finding a groove now. That stepback in Curry’s grill was enormous. Playing like one of those guys who kicks it up at the biggest moments.
He moves his feet so well and has great anticipation. Pretty unflappable on D and really versatile.
He’s better suited physically to defend Curry and has plenty of experience doing so from his Spurs days. Once we began switching the PNR the Warriors offense was finished. Game 2 is going to be real interesting.
To me the big thing was that he came out aggressive and confident from the jump, even before the 3s started falling. He actually missed his first 2 threes iirc, and simply didn't give any fucks. It looks like at some point in the Miami series he just decided that if he was going down, he was going down swinging.
That looked like Spurs DWhite, and if Spurs DWhite shows up, a banner is gonna get hung.
And, as was noted above, he is tough for Curry to deal with.
That looked like Spurs DWhite, and if Spurs DWhite shows up, a banner is gonna get hung.
And, as was noted above, he is tough for Curry to deal with.
Nice article on White and some clips on the multitude of great plays he had from last night's game: https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/2022-nba-finals-how-derrick-white-game-1-hero-made-celtics-the-leagues-most-complete-team/
This was my favorite video that is not a 3P shot as it shows his great defense of Steph: View: https://gfycat.com/mammothkeengoral
This was my favorite video that is not a 3P shot as it shows his great defense of Steph: View: https://gfycat.com/mammothkeengoral
It shows you how great Stef is too. I agree that White's defense here is A+ for effort and A- for execution, and yet, Stef gets free, into the lane, and 2 celtics bigs have to come over to contest Stef's shot, which almost goes in. People in other threads denigrating Stef is baffling to me...the guy is just incredible to watch. Stamina, ballhandling, range on his shot, lightening quick release, ridiculous offensive quickness and footwork. I'm going to enjoy the Celtics denying him a ring.
I kind of think they should do the best they can to contest/deny his threes, and if that means he drives and scores a lot of twos (his handle and touch around the basket are exceptional), so be it.
Agree 100%. Steph’s 3s drive that team (and its fan base). Force him to take it inside where the big boys are. Or pass to someone else who isn’t Steph Curry.
For Steph the shot itself is almost extraneous. He is so good at finding his shooting pocket no matter what his body positioning was the moment before that the biggest question is whether or not his shooting hand is free.It shows you how great Stef is too. I agree that White's defense here is A+ for effort and A- for execution, and yet, Stef gets free, into the lane, and 2 celtics bigs have to come over to contest Stef's shot, which almost goes in. People in other threads denigrating Stef is baffling to me...the guy is just incredible to watch. Stamina, ballhandling, range on his shot, lightening quick release, ridiculous offensive quickness and footwork. I'm going to enjoy the Celtics denying him a ring.
The aggressive switching D, when it’s rolling, cuts a lot of that off.
This is key. Its a bit of a SSS, but from watching the playoff Steph (as well as Draymond and Klay) are showing their age. They can't be amazing for as many minutes as they were in their primes.
White challenging Looney for the rebound is continuous high-level defenseIt shows you how great Stef is too. I agree that White's defense here is A+ for effort and A- for execution, and yet, Stef gets free, into the lane, and 2 celtics bigs have to come over to contest Stef's shot, which almost goes in. People in other threads denigrating Stef is baffling to me...the guy is just incredible to watch. Stamina, ballhandling, range on his shot, lightening quick release, ridiculous offensive quickness and footwork. I'm going to enjoy the Celtics denying him a ring.
Really? What post/thread is denigrating Steph around here? I want to see that...He was pretty special last night and his entire career.
No one is denigrating Steph, and everyone is terrified of him.
Without him, the Celtics would sweep this series by an average of 25 points a game.
With him, the Warriors can absolutely win it if a lot of things go right. He is playing that well on both ends, and is that critical.
Not sure what the original poster is referring to, but I've seem some weird comments on the Internets, spawned by the whole recent Draymond / KD Twitter feud. For some reason, people are mistaking chatter as anti-Curry, when all I see is people mocking the stats which claim to show that Curry is nothing without KD. Curry built a dynasty without KD and is still a force to be reckoned with.
You're right, I stand corrected. In reading the series game thread, there are a few off-hand comments about Steph's age and how he will not be able to sustain his high motor and level of performance over 48 minutes. There's also a mini-run of comments about Steph's "poor" record in NBA finals games without KD. In recollecting, I thought more critical things were being said about his game, but I was wrong. Most everyone acknowledges how great he is.
I know hes a legend (deservedly so) here.....but White is given me a total Dennis Johnson vibe.
When the light is bright he doesnt give a damn and makes the right play when you need him too. He also is sneaky clutch with his shot.
When the light is bright he doesnt give a damn and makes the right play when you need him too. He also is sneaky clutch with his shot.
No worries, just thought anyone slamming Steph would be out of character around here.
I think we'd all love for KD to start a Dray/Steph Twitter distraction, make that a media story, while the C's sneak away with banner 18
Tremendous in-depth profile of Derrick White from The Ringer. Pop's admonition to him that "You need to believe that you belong here" seems to be a running theme throughout his basketball career:
https://www.theringer.com/2022/6/7/23155652/derrick-white-boston-celtics
https://www.theringer.com/2022/6/7/23155652/derrick-white-boston-celtics
defacto Derrick White thread
advanced stats darling
DW talks about CJM's love of soccer and how he stresses spacing
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yAQFBn5jvM&t=17s
advanced stats darling
DW talks about CJM's love of soccer and how he stresses spacing
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yAQFBn5jvM&t=17s
minute 51, JJ asks if White slightly altered his 3pt shooting form?
and he did...so we can put variance to bed
and he did...so we can put variance to bed