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Celtics Discuss Derrick White Stepping Up in Game 2 Win: 'We Need Him to Continue to Play at this Level'
In the Celtics' 119-106 win over the Hawks in Game 2, Atlanta tried forcing Boston's role players to beat them.
Granted, a lack of physicality and minimal resistance undermined the visitors' strategy and led to 64 points in the paint for the hosts.
It also didn't stand in the way of Jayson Tatum matching Dejounte Murray with a game-high 29 points and Jaylen Brown registering 18.
But that was the Hawks' approach. And the defending Eastern Conference champions weaponized the extra attention devoted to the Celtics' stars against them.
Derrick White's 26-point performance exemplified that. After coming to Boston at the trade deadline a year ago, the former Spur is more comfortable, confident, and aggressive this season.
White's been the Celtics' third-best player this campaign, registering the second-highest plus-minus rating on the team (6.0) and second-highest net rating (11), per NBA.com. It's a testament to his two-way impact.
Tuesday night, with Atlanta loading up, trying to contain Tatum and Brown, White produced a game-high 18 points in the paint.
His aggression didn't just apply to attacking downhill. He also didn't hesitate to let it fly.
After Boston's Game 2 win, Brown conveyed the following about White's performance.
"That's the beauty of being on a great team is, being able to have multiple threats out there...D. White just exploded. It can be anybody on any given night...We need much more of that from D. White. We need him to keep that up."
Tatum stated, "We’re just so much more of a dynamic team when D. White is asserting himself and being aggressive and not being passive. We've talked about it, being too passive and looking for guys too much. He's like too good of a guy.
"These last few games, being aggressive, making the right play, attacking the rim, not necessarily waiting, just makes us that much better of a team. We've got so many guys, so many weapons offensively, that everybody needs to essentially like be themselves. And we can play the right way and be ourselves at the same time and be a really good team."
With 4:25 left in Tuesday's tilt, White stepped to the free-throw line with the hosts leading 109-97. The TD Garden crowd serenaded him with "MVP" chants.
"I was happy for him," said Tatum. "He’s been playing his *** off these last two games. Obviously, a big, big reason why we won these two games. We need him to continue to play at this level, and he can. I was happy to hear that."
When White came to the podium, he conveyed about playing off Tatum and Brown, "Those guys are top 15, 10 guys in the league. They get a lot of attention. It just opens up the court for myself. Just doing a good job of having good spacing, letting them do what they do, and when my opportunity’s there, I just do what I do."
White also discussed what the encouragement from the Celtics' stars means to him.
"It feels good. Even during the regular season, it was JB in timeouts -– ‘Come on, D., do what you do.’ It’s cool to hear that from those guys. They all empower me."
Further Reading
The Celtics Give Their Evaluation of Battle on the Boards in Game 1 Win vs. Hawks
The Celtics Discuss Their Game 1 Win vs. the Hawks: 'We Can't Take Our Foot Off the Gas'
The Celtics Are Pushing Robert Williams to Take His Offense to the Next Level
