Derrick White’s place in HoopsHype’s latest point guard rankings says plenty about where he stands entering the 2026-27 season, but it also points straight to Boston’s biggest offensive question.
Frank Frank Urbina slotted White 15th among NBA point guards, a number that might undersell one of the league’s most valuable two-way guards. Still, the ranking makes sense when you look at what White had to do last season without Jayson Tatum. Boston asked him to step into a much bigger creation role, and that changed the shape of his offense.
White has long been at his best as the kind of guard who punishes defenses after the stars have already tilted the floor. He can knock down threes, attack a scrambling defense, or keep the ball moving before the help can recover. Last season, though, he had to generate far more of those openings on his own.
That shift showed up in the shot chart. In 2024-25, White took 4.1 pull-up jumpers per game and hit 38.5% of them. He also logged 6.1 catch-and-shoot attempts per game and made 41%.
The year before, the numbers looked different. His pull-up volume climbed by about three attempts per game, but his efficiency dropped to 36.5%.
His catch-and-shoot workload also fell by nearly two shots a night, and he converted just 33.3%. That’s the kind of dip that makes Tatum’s return so important for Boston.
Tatum’s presence changes everything around White. Defenses have to load up toward Tatum, and that should give White more cleaner looks from the perimeter instead of forcing him to create against a set defense over and over again. He’ll still handle the ball, but he shouldn’t have to be the engine for every possession.
“We expect a progression to the mean for White next season, as well as for him to remain among the league’s top backcourt defenders,” Urbina wrote.
Even with the uneven shooting, White’s overall value never really went away. Urbina pointed out that he finished among the NBA’s top 25 players in both box plus-minus and value over replacement player last season. Boston was also nearly 10 points per 100 possessions better with him on the floor during the regular season.
That tracks with what White gives the Celtics on the defensive end. He’s still one of the league’s best point-of-attack defenders, he can fight through screens, and he brings rim protection from a guard spot that few players can match. That versatility gives Joe Mazzulla the freedom to be aggressive without constantly worrying about where the weak spot is.
Boston needs that again, especially with Jaylen Brown’s departure leaving White unable to slide fully back into a purely secondary role. The Celtics still need him to score, facilitate and take on more leadership. The trick is putting him in spots that suit his game instead of asking him to do everything.
If Tatum’s return restores White’s catch-and-shoot efficiency while his defense stays elite, the case for a rise becomes easy to make. He could push into the top 10, get into the All-Star mix, and make Boston a much more dangerous team in the process.
In Other News...
Cavaliers Just Gave Celtics Fans Another Reason To Worry About The East
The Cavaliers have already put themselves in the conversation as a team the Celtics will have to measure against again, and their latest move only adds to that feel. Cleveland completed a trade to acquire Peyton Watson from the Nuggets, bringing in a player viewed as a versatile fit for a roster that already features James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.
For Boston, the bigger issue is less about one individual deal than the way it sharpens the picture in the East. A deeper, more adaptable Cavaliers group gives Cleveland another layer heading into the upcoming season, and the Celtics know those are the kinds of additions that can swing playoff matchups and complicate the road through the conference. [Read more 🡒]
Joe Mazzulla Is Setting A New Tone As Celtics Adjust
Joe Mazzullas offseason reach has extended well beyond Boston, with the Celtics coach making a point to visit Luka Garzas camp in Indianola, Iowa. It was a small but telling gesture from a coach trying to stay connected to his players as the Celtics settle into a new stretch after the trade of Jaylen Brown, and it fit the harder-edged tone Mazzulla has been carrying into this phase of the teams evolution.
Garza, meanwhile, has already seen one of the more unusual sides of that approach. After a viral clip showed Mazzulla boxing with Jayson Tatum, Garza said hed be interested in getting in on those sessions too, a sign that the coachs style is resonating in more ways than one. As Boston looks ahead to the new season, these little offseason details keep reinforcing that Mazzulla is trying to shape more than just the playbook. [Read more 🡒]