How Joe Mazzulla has allowed Derrick White to grow

Following his Game 4 heroics, White discussed how Mazzulla has helped him become a better player, per Bobby Krivitsky of SI.com.

“It started with Joe,” White said when asked about how his team has empowered him. “Ever since he took over, he’s given me the most confidence, and I can talk to him, he can talk to me, and it’s just getting better and better. I can talk to him and he can talk to me and I love it.”

During the 2023-24 regular season, White was a huge factor in the Celtics’ overall success. He averaged 15.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per outing. The 29-year-old also shot a career-high 90.1% from the charity stripe and posted a career-best 1.2 blocks per game on the defensive end.

White’s role as a two-way player has made him an amazing asset for the C’s. And when Boston needed some shot-making down the stretch, he was there to deliver when it mattered most.

“It’s unreal,” White described when asked about what it’s like to be on a heater. “I think any person that kind of gets a couple going in, and you start making some tough ones, and you feel like you just can’t miss; that basket’s huge, and it’s awesome, a lot of fun.”

The Colorado native went an efficient 15-for-26 (57.7%) from the floor and converted on eight of his 15 attempts from 3-point land. Miami only had nine triples in total and starters Bam Adebayo, Jaime Jaquez Jr., and Nikola Jovic had 37 points combined to White’s 38.

Despite his dominance, White isn’t content.

“I’ve had great games in the playoffs and didn’t really respond well, and I’m not trying to repeat that.”

In Game 6 of last year’s Eastern Conference Finals, White had the game-winning putback to keep the Celtics’ hopes alive and force a Game 7 in Beantown. Unfortunately, their comeback fell short in the decisive contest and White went a rough 2-for-9 from beyond the arc.

Even though he didn’t have a terrible Game 7 overall, White wants things to go differently this year and end this first-round series with a win in Boston on Wednesday night.

“We’ve seen it for years now, they just don’t go away, they don’t stop playing, and credit to them, they kept competing,” White said of the Heat. “We know they’re not gonna quit … We know Game 5’s not gonna be easy because of that.”

Boston led by a whopping 28 points in the second half, yet the Heat cut the advantage to just 13 points with a little over five minutes to go in the fourth quarter. Then with 4:15 remaining, White notched the Celtics’ first basket in over three minutes via a tough layup. Poetically, he also had Boston’s final points of the game courtesy of an open 3-pointer with 49.5 seconds left.

Another career-high like that from White probably isn’t on the horizon for Game 5, but an offensive outburst even somewhat close to that would be a huge boost for a Celtics team eager for revenge.