Derrick White and Jrue Holiday have been through some stuff this season.
A tough stretch during the dog days of the NBA season had White feeling joyless and low energy during the holidays. For Jrue, nagging injuries to his shoulder and shooting hand have hampered the 34-year-old vet all year.
However, it’s now April and with the Celtics planning on another long playoff run, Boston’s backcourt seems to be primed and ready to defend their title. In a Sunday tune-up against the Wizards, White (19 points, 5-of-9 from 3, four assists) and Holiday (13 points, 3-of-5 from 3, five assists) turned in efficient box scores in the blowout, continuing a steadying trend over the last couple of months that comes in right on time at the end of the regular season.
Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are near locks to lead the team in touches and usage rate in the playoffs, but we’ve seen more on-ball responsibilities from White and Holiday of late. We’ve seen high assist games for both since the All-Star break. In a home-and-home against Brooklyn, Holiday racked up twenty dimes. Since the six-game road trip and returning to TD Garden, White has 60 assists over nine games. Their playmaking gives more versatility to the offense and coupled with Porzingis’ successful return, makes the Celtics even more unpredictable on offense.
“I think every game is a little bit different. Some games, I can have 10 and some games I can have one,” White said after dishing out four assists against the Wizards. “So, just understanding that…We’ve got a lot of talented players, so just makes it really simple.”
They’ve both also started to ramp up from behind the arc, too. Since January 29th, White has hit the most three pointers (114) on the team at a 40.3% clip — that stretch fueled White’s growing record as the team’s most prolific single season 3-point shooter. After missing a handful of games (no pun intended) with mallet finger, Holiday has also found his stroke, shooting with only four fingers with his pinkie in a cast; over the last four games, he’s hit 12 of his last 19 threes.
On the other side of the ball, the All-Defense duo should be called upon a lot throughout the Celtics’ run through the East. They’re scheduled to face Trae Young, Jalen Brunson, Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on their path to the Finals. In last year’s championship run, they combined to hold Kyrie Irving to 22-for-47 shooting, Tyler Herro 11-for-30, and Garland 13-for-34. While it will most certainly be a team effort, this is potentially a guard-heavy road.
Eye test-wise, White and Holiday looked a step behind early in the season. Maybe that was the product of running the odometer up after a Finals and Olympic gold run last summer. Maybe it was just mental fatigue. Now, they seem rejuvenated, particularly Holiday who has played fewer minutes and games this year than he has in the last four seasons.
Beyond the numbers and at least from this fan’s perspective, it’s really just a matter of confidence — for me, not for them. Some early doubts crept in after their slow starts and the conversations about salary cap restrictions, a new owner, and the looming tax burden fed those fears. Now, with four games left in the regular season, I want the playoffs to start yesterday. Over the last three weeks, the pair is playing their best basketball together in not just complementary roles, but as alphas during long stretches of games or in big moments. Think Holiday’s Game 3 performance in Indiana or White’s block in Game 2 of the Finals.
