Derrick White was relieved to find the sights

Promoted to Jaylen Brown’s right-hand man this season in Jayson Tatum’s absence, Derrick White struggled to justify this status, even if offensively.

The Celtics’ Swiss Army Knife remains one of the most complete guards in the league, a fierce defender and capable of blackening all stat lines. Missing 3-pointers is not traditionally on his list. However, that’s how it was until this Wednesday and welcoming the Grizzlies. Against a struggling Memphis team, he regained his composure for a very comfortable win for Boston.

The former Spurs player has shot 28% from behind the arc since the start of the season, a far cry from his last three practices above 38%. Against the Grizzlies, for the first time since the restart, he shot 50% from distance on 3/6 in a game like Derrick White: 20 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 1 block. At the end of 12 games under this symbolic bar, he has not exceeded ten consecutive performances under 50% on 3-pointers since his arrival with the Celtics in 2022.

“There is still a long way to go”

“It feels good” he admitted. “Yeah, obviously I was frustrated. Especially when you have good shots to hit, it’s definitely frustrating. But nobody gave up on me.” A perfectionist, Derrick White doesn’t want to settle for a good performance to consider himself out of the woods. “I still have a long way to go. Just because I was good at shooting today doesn’t mean anything.”

It’s still a serious step forward for Derrick White, who is hitting 20 points for only the third time, while we can imagine him raising his average without Jayson Tatum. But this new role has seemed to be very difficult so far, and the Grizzlies have seemed like a victim of reconciliation.

“He does an important job for us and has heavy responsibilities.” said coach Joe Macula after the match. “I think he’s among the best in the league in steals and blocks, and he plays different roles every night. So he continues to do what he needs to do to help us win, and tonight that was scoring. And he was good at it.”

White – Pritchard, a fighting tandem

“I’m just trying to trust this whole process, my form, and continue to find those good positions and stick to them.” explains Derrick White as a recipe for getting back on track at address. “It’s really frustrating but I guess it’s part of the journey.”

This start of the season was all the more painful because, next to him, Peyton Pritchard was barely in a better mood. The outgoing Sixth Man of the Year was held to just 5 points in two games, at a very low 25.6% on 3-pointers. Like Derrick White, he also found form against the Grizzlies, posting 24 points on 8/15 shooting, including 5/10 from beyond the arc.

“Sometimes it’s hard because everyone talks to you about it” Derick White has detailed this common shortcoming. “Everybody tells you: ‘Keep taking risks, shoot, we believe in you’. You hear that from every person, so sometimes you want to give those who are struggling a little bit to breathe and let them go through it in their own way. Everyone has their own way to get out of the hole and the bad moments. And if we continue to have these good positions, things will turn out for us. »

Despite the struggles of their backcourt and Sam Hauser (34% from distance vs. 42% in his career), the Celtics are holding on to six wins and seven losses for now. This, despite the league’s 24th collective 3-point percentage (33.5%) despite the second-most attempts.

How to read statistics? MJ = matches played; Min = Minute; Shots = Shots Successful / Shots Attempted; 3 points = 3 points / attempt 3 points; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive jump; Tot = Total number of jumps; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal mistakes; Int = intercepts; Bp = lost balls; Ct: Against; Points = Points.