The Boston Celtics are thinner in the backcourt after trading veteran point guard Marcus Smart, and it is showing up in how they are represented in the annual player rankings across the NBA media sphere.
For instance, Bleacher Report’s assessment of the league’s top 30 guards has one Celtic on the list. Derrick White is 28th.
“The … Celtics were sold enough on Derrick White to move stalwart Marcus Smart to the Memphis Grizzlies,” B/R’s Eric Pincus noted. “White played all 82 games last year for the Celtics and was rock-solid through the playoffs, averaging 13.4 points on 45.5 percent shooting from 3-point range.”
“White will presumably take on Smart’s role as a do-everything guard (defense, scoring, shooting, etc.).”
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“He may not be a primary playmaker, but the Celtics haven’t operated with one in recent years,” suggested the B/R NBA analyst. “Instead, White will share those duties with others like Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Malcolm Brogdon.”
Just ahead of a last-place tie between Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves and Phoenix Suns legend Chris Paul and just behind Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro, we feel this is a bit low for White, but he’ll have a full season at the helm of the Celtics to confirm our suspicions in 2023-24.
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