D. White 1st Team All-Defense

[Roy H.]

Joining Wembanyama on the first team were Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren, Detroit Pistons guard Ausar Thompson, Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert and Boston Celtics guard Derrick White.

Well deserved.

[Goldstar88]

D-White is the most under appreciated Celtic. Can?t believe people want to trade him.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

Good for White!

So much for the narrative that his quickness/defense declined this year.

His best defensive year so far!

[jambr380]

D-White is the most under appreciated Celtic. Can?t believe people want to trade him.

He's somehow super-beloved, yet still underrated. I'm not sure many people know just how important he is to our team, even when he's missing 3s. His impact goes unnoticed to a lot of fans, but I can't imagine Brad would trade him unless it's for a massive haul. Like a Steph Castle or Franz Wagner level player or a top 3 pick in this draft

[Who]

Good for White!

So much for the narrative that his quickness/defense declined this year.

His best defensive year so far!

I don't know ... I don't think D White deserves the 1st team selection. I feel like he is getting this accolade based on past reputation.

Watching this OKC vs SAS game right now, I would have both S Castle and A Caruso ahead of D White defensively. Cason Wallace as well. Now these are some of the finest defensive guards in the league. It is not normal to have so many gifted defensive guards on the court all the same time. Just happenstance.

That said, I feel like some other guys aren't getting the credit they deserve here. That they are getting overlooked in favour of D White. I'd have D White as a 2nd team candidate but it would be a close call whether he'd make it or not.

[jambr380]

Good for White!

So much for the narrative that his quickness/defense declined this year.

His best defensive year so far!

I don't know ... I don't think D White deserves the 1st team selection. I feel like he is getting this accolade based on past reputation.

Watching this OKC vs SAS game right now, I would have both S Castle and A Caruso ahead of D White defensively. Cason Wallace as well. Now these are some of the finest defensive guards in the league. It is not normal to have so many gifted defensive guards on the court all the same time. Just happenstance.

That said, I feel like some other guys aren't getting the credit they deserve here. That they are getting overlooked in favour of D White. I'd have D White as a 2nd team candidate but it would be a close call whether he'd make it or not.

I understand that part of it is narrative driven. The Celtics lost 5 very good to great defensive players in Tatum, Jrue, Al, KP, and Kornet, and replaced them with Simons/Vucevic, Garza, Minott, and Hugo. Queta probably deserves more credit than he's received, and our try-hard back-up wings played well, but Jaylen just isn't a very good defender and they still ended up with a top 5 defense. With White having the best +/- in the East.

No, his on-ball physical defense isn't as good as a Thompson brother, but I still think he reads the court as well as anybody in the league on the defensive end. A lot of time man defense is given more weight in these awards, so I'm glad to see a team defense savant like White get so much credit.

[Celtics4ever]

D-White is the most under appreciated Celtic. Can?t believe people want to trade him.

Did you watch the playoffs?   JK

He was in a shooting slump, these awards are for the regular season, not the post season, though.  He was completely ineffective against more athletic guards.   His shot was not falling.    He is on the wrong side of 30.

[Vermont Green]

Derrick White is an NBA statistical enigma.  On the Celtics for the regular season, he had the 3rd best DRtg (108.0) behind Vucevic (102.3) and Queta (105.6).  This is among regulars with light minutes/games players filtered out.  But Vucevic is viewed as a horrible defender, Queta as very good, and White as top 5 in the NBA.  So I guess you can't rely on this advanced stat.

I think White gets attention for his defense first and foremost because he is a very good defensive player but also because of the blocks.  He leads all guards (from what I can tell) in blocks.  Blocks are fun.  Blocks get attention, even more so than steals.  Judging defense player by player is so subjective.

As to trading White, I would not hesitate to trade him for a good deal.  There is a topic on Derrick White trades and I did not see even one that was realistic and that I would do.  I want the Celtics to contend for the next 2-3 seasons, I don't want to trade White for draft picks or prospects, at least not in that time frame.

[Goldstar88]

D-White is the most under appreciated Celtic. Can?t believe people want to trade him.

Did you watch the playoffs?   JK

He was in a shooting slump, these awards are for the regular season, not the post season, though.  He was completely ineffective against more athletic guards.   His shot was not falling.    He is on the wrong side of 30.

Sure, he had a bad series against Philly. Doesn?t mean he had a bad season. He clearly didn?t.