Even In Victory, The Boston Celtics Simply Can’t Count On Derrick White To Score

Heading into Tuesday’s Game 2 against the Milwaukee Bucks without starting point guard Marcus Smart, the Boston Celtics’ keys to winning had to include a big performance from his replacement, Derrick White. Presumably White, who had been struggling this postseason, was going to have to step up for the Celtics to avoid falling 0-2 to the defending champions before hitting the road.

Instead, White managed to score zero points in 28 minutes and Boston still blew out Milwaukee 109-86. White wasn’t a complete washout, he did pick up four rebounds and five assists and, given his lack of scoring, was the exact right guy to be their go-to foul collector by picking up four during the contest. However, no one could complain that he was stat-padding.

The Celtics won the game despite White’s goose egg, but don’t expect that to be repeatable trick. The Bucks are simply not going to be that ineffective again and Boston won’t put up that kind of big lead without some scoring from White twice in a single series. Yes, White was +22 while he was on the floor, but plus-minus is a weird way to judge an individual performance: how much of it was just his teammates being red hot and the Bucks being ice cold?

White’s tenure with the Celtics has been a confusing one. Essentially traded for Josh Richardson, Romeo Langford and a first-round pick, he was brought in both for his defense and because the Celtics believed he would be a perfect fit in their current scheme. He was never meant to be a starter, more of the first player off the bench, and he was never expected to put up big numbers.

So far so good on that front. White’s been a great fit in the role he’s played, especially in helping him solidify the team’s already impressive defense. No one can say that his presence is actively hurting the team: this is not an Enes Kanter Freedom situation.

Yet, it’s impossible not to believe White hasn’t underperformed given how much Boston gave up for him and how hefty his contract is. With the Celtics he averaged 11 points per game on 30.6% shooting from the three-point range. If he’s still at this level of production it will not make sense for the team to pay him $54.2 million over the next three years on his contract, in fact it would make that an albatross of a deal.

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As of now, the Celtics aren’t sure whether Marcus Smart will be back from the quad contusion that caused him to miss Game 2. Smart, as one would expect from him, is extremely confident that he will be playing this afternoon. In either case, White should be prepared for extended minutes whether as a starter or one of the first players off the bench.

One wonders whether playing away from TD Garden will be good for White’s confidence. Even though Boston has gone 4-1 in these playoffs, and that first-round sweep over the Brooklyn Nets gave them plenty of goodwill, White’s struggles have made him a magnet for fan criticism. Playing in Milwaukee for the next two games, away from the hometown doubters, might end up being exactly what he needs to get his shot going again. Certainly, nothing could hurt at this point.

While an improved performance in this year’s postseason would help White’s case, it’s impossible to know whether the Celtics will regret their trade for the guard until they see him play a full season’s worth of numbers from him. At the moment, however, it’s understandable if they are not yet sold on their most notable deadline acquisition.