Derrick White’s All-Star Show Is About to Become the NBA’s ‘Brooke Purdy’ – Gudstory

After the Boston Celtics acquired Jrue Holiday in early October with the Portland Trail Blazers, the five-time defensive back was touted as the answer to Boston’s need for a rhythm-setting coordinator. In theory, he was also the fourth All-Star in the Eastern Conference starting lineup.

However, as All-Star voting began in earnest last week, Derrick White’s name was one dripping with intrigue. Holiday has lived up to his reputation, but his younger star in the backcourt has stolen the fame. The NBA All-Star rules allow two backcourt starters, another pair of backcourt reserves and two wild cards from any position in each conference. That leaves enough room for a maximum of six guards, meaning that in a conference populated by Tyrese Haliburton, Tyrese Maxey, Jalen Brunson, Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell and Trae Young, the wings of White’s rebellious All-Star candidacy have sprouted.

White’s All-Star campaign is about to become the NBA’s equivalent of MVP Brock Purdy’s venomous speech before he lashed out in Week 17. That’s not to say White or Purdy wouldn’t put up those numbers if they were the focal point of the offense, but the impact wouldn’t be as dramatic without their managers. from first class. In San Fran, the all-purpose Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, the tyrannical defense and George Kittle make Purdy’s job easier. For White, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis are the focal point.

The game manager trope doesn’t come up as often in the NBA in reference to point guards, but if it did, Gilbert Arenas would be vocal about White being the preeminent game manager in basketball today for one of the NBA’s most prominent franchises. For professionals. , and then belittling him because he did not change the rules of the game.

White has been living up to this for years and it couldn’t have come at a better time. The former Division II All-American spent one season at Colorado before being recruited into Professor Popovich’s school of basketball finishing. Every year, White exceeded low expectations. Now with high expectations of championship or bust clouding Boston, White stepped up and answered the call.

White’s hustle and tendency to make unorthodox plays for the guard was never more evident than with his tip-in as time expired to force a Game 7 between the Boston Celtics and Miami in last season’s Eastern Conference Finals. This fall, White showed up to camp with a shaved head and arrived cooking on a Heisenberg Steez as a robotic bucket in an offense that relied on creating more open threes for shooters than any team in the league.

At the current pace, White threatens the exclusive 50-40-90 club, were it not for missing a few pesky free throws, and his stats are career highs in points and assists. This, along with the efficiency of the assembly line, is only its second strongest selling point. However, while he doesn’t possess any of the game-changing offensive tools of those more exciting options, he does have one trump card.

In an era where defense has been taken out of the game, White has been the most outstanding two-way standout, amid a field of perimeter stars who are being hounded defensively.

White is the rare 6-foot-4 eraser or under eraser who omits shots in the paint as well as the perimeter reflection of players 25 feet from the bucket. White for the second year in a row Lead all guards in blocks. After a year of leading all guards in contested 2-point shots, He once again became a top-three finisher Opposing players score 2.6 percentage points worse against white than their usual score. Rate top 10 For goalkeepers in the league. White’s defensive reliability is even more impressive when you consider his advanced offensive load or the defensive assignments he is assigned.

With Maxey, Haliburton, Lillard and Brunson practically involved in this matter, the decision will ultimately come down to the trio of Young, Mitchell and White. Mitchell could be the odd man out as he doesn’t create chances for his teammates at the same level as Young, and offers the same defense as a matador.

between November 25 and Christmas DayYoung has been cosmically good on the offensive end. He knocked down 42 percent of his attempts, most of them off the dribble, led the league in triples, made more assists than anyone else, and committed more turnovers. The Hawks lost 9 of 14 in that stretch. By comparison, White has the fourth-highest usage rate on a team that reached the Finals the year before his arrival. However, the coaches don’t have the same respect for Young as the fans or players do Reputation as a trainer killer Doesn’t help those odds either.

Before you criticize White, remember that coaches choose the reserves. Hawks fans will be screaming the league’s ears off if Young is passed over for a player who offers the clearest contrast to his nightly offensive fireworks, but just days after being snubbed last year, he claimed Nate McMillan’s job. However, given the rate Coaches scream about the defense being out of the gamerewarding a coach’s ultimate player with a pair of offensive donnas seems like the kind of statement coaches would make.

The last precedence for coaches evaluating a two-way role player who sinks toilets covers up defensive miscues for his teammates, wipes floors with opposing defenders and does reliable offensive management work for the league leaders, Draymond Green was the primary offensive option chosen by the coaches over Paul George two years ago. .

Effort matters, even in all-star exhibitions. If they’re looking for a competitive All-Star Game and a Draymond variant to spice things up after last season’s bland run and shooting brawl, White should get the nod.

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