Derrick White of the Celtics, this season has many of the best in my mind.
He was the player with the biggest change in his hairstyle, and although he showed signs of losing his head last season, he still had some hair on his head. In the offseason, he directly shaved his hair, and he looked like Lu Zhishen.
He's the most underrated player of the season and the best non-All-Star of the season in my opinion. Of course, White still has the potential to be an All-Star this season. I've lost count of how many times this season White has staged a scene to save Private Tutu.
In the last game against the Pistons, who lost 27 in a row, the Celtics won in overtime. In overtime, White scored 10 points, two layups, a three-pointer and three free throws directly made the Pistons desperate. In that game, he had 23 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks.
Today, the Celtics played the Raptors, resting Horford, Tatum and Porzingis, and it looked like a game to be let go. But White scored nine points again in the final quarter to help the Celtics bite the Raptors and win five in a row.
White's 5-of-19 and 2-of-10 three-point efficiency was terrible, but the key was that the two shots he scored in the final quarter were critical. At 3:20, White made a three-pointer;At 1:04, White scored a strong goal to extend the margin to 3 points.
Although he was 3 of the previous 16, White's consecutive score of 7 points at the critical moment seemed to be descended from heaven. Although many of the Celtics' main players were absent in this game, White still held on to the Celtics' unbeaten home record this season.
He has made at least two blocks in seven consecutive games, the first guard in the league to do so since the '71-72 season. Before the start of the season, he and Holiday bet on who would have more blocks, and Holiday won't be able to say much about his defensive ability. But this season, White is averaging 13-time 20th in the league, Holiday "only" 09 times.
White has averaged 23 points, 6 assists and 3 assists per game in the last six games8 rebounds and 25 caps 10 steals, 50 40 90% three-point shooting, standard 180 club. If extended to the entire season, he averaged 168 points 39 rebounds 52 assists, three points of shooting are. 5% and 881%, just 180 away from the club.
So far this season, White has averaged career highs in points, steals, blocks, three-point range, three-point range, and free throw percentage. His EPM (Offensive and Defensive Impact) can be ranked seventh in the league, and this list is all superstar-level team big brothers.
In a sense, White really falls into the category of "I'm bald and I'm getting stronger," even though he was already strong with the Celtics last season. Compared to the first playoff game of the Celtics, both shooting percentages were below 40%.
He shot 50 in the playoffs last season5% shooting percentage and 45The 5% three-point shooting rate is already starting to show signs of becoming a thigh. You must remember that in the East Final G6, it was White's rebound that dragged the series into a tie-break.
White's continued progress is also the confidence of the Celtics to let go of their team soul "Smart". As it turned out, after getting the ball, White soared into the sky, and there was no one in front of him who could press him.
White made Celtics fans quickly forget the sadness of losing Smart, and while Celtics fans wished Smart all the best with the Grizzlies, they were also wondering if the outcome would have been different if Smart had been sent away last season.
At the same time, Derrick White is also the white moonlight in the hearts of many Spurs fans, when the Spurs traded White, no matter how many draft picks they obtained, they couldn't make up for the regrets of Spurs fans.
White was the No. 29 pick in '17, and when he received Popovich's **, he cried like a dream come true. Five years ago, no Tier 1 university was willing to give White a chance, and he had to play in the Division 2 first.
Five years later, he received a ** from Popovich, who wanted White to play for the Spurs. White and the Spurs are a model of mutual fulfillment, and without the Spurs, White would not be where he is now;Without White, the Spurs have lost a lot of luster in their rebuilding days.
As White got better and better, the Spurs decided to let White go to a team that could really play his worth, and also so that he could sign a big contract. White signed a four-year, $73 million contract in '20, and before that, he had already been selected for the U.S. national team.
White is probably one of the league's strongest championship puzzles right now, and now that piece of the puzzle is in the hands of the Celtics. Will the Celtics, who are a little worse every year, be able to go one step further next year?