Derrick

White

White continues to be a steady presence for the Celtics. While Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown took more shots, White was a team-high +8 in 37 minutes in the two-point win. He also led Boston in rebounds, assists and blocks. Kristaps Porzingis’ eventual return will impact the Celtics’ rotation, but shouldn’t significantly impact White’s fantasy value. Porzingis is also still without a concrete timeline. Boston has three games in Week 6, starting with the Clippers on Monday in the second game of a back-to-back.

As good as White was last season, he’s been even better to begin the 2024-25 campaign. Counting Tuesday’s stellar performance, he’s providing top 10 per-game value in 9-cat formats. And it isn’t as if White is doing anything out of the ordinary. The eventual return of Kristaps Porzingis will impact the entire rotation, but it shouldn’t prohibit White from remaining a high-level guard in fantasy basketball.

White had an interesting game. He played 36 minutes despite committing five fouls and 16 of his 19 shot attempts were from behind the 3-point line. White made seven 3-pointers and only had one turnover, but still needed 19 shots to get his 26 points and was -11 in the six-point loss. He’s a top-20 player in fantasy. The Celtics will play the Nets on Friday and Bucks on Sunday later this week.

White has scored 17 points or more in six of Boston’s first seven games, building on his stellar 2023-24 campaign. After surprising many fantasy basketball managers with his production last season, White’s current status as a top-20 player won’t shock anyone. Given his skill set, he’s capable of maintaining this production level, even after Kristaps Porzingis returns later this season.

Live by the three, die by the three. That was the case for the Celtics on Wednesday, going 19-of-57 on the night. White was, by far, their most accurate shooter, making all five of his 3-point attempts. An elite fantasy option last season, the Celtics guard is well on his way to providing similar value in 2024-25.

Through two games, White is 14-of-24 from the field, scoring 43 points in wins over the Knicks and Wizards. On a night when Jaylen Brown got off to a slow start and Jrue Holiday and Al Horford combined to score seven points (all by Holiday), White’s consistency helped Boston hold off the Wizards before pulling away during the third quarter.

After enjoying the best season of his career last year, White brought some of the magic into this season. He didn’t reach his typical production on the defensive end, but he was lethal from beyond the arc as the team tied the NBA record for 3-pointers made in a game. White only played 27 minutes due to the lopsided score, and while he may not be this effective from beyond the arc all year, he should be in for another big season in fantasy hoops. Still, they took 61 threes as a team, so White should see plenty of attempts all season long.

One thing that has become clear under Joe Mazzulla is that the Celtics will do everything they can to “out-math” their opponent. On most nights, that means firing up 3-pointers in an indiscriminate manner. Boston attempted 55 on Tuesday, connecting on 18, with White being one of three (Payton Pritchard and Jayson Tatum) Celtics to make five. He exceeded expectations in fantasy basketball last season, and Kristaps Porzingis’ (leg) absence should enable White to get off to a good start in 2024-25.

Availability has been a major concern for Leonard over the last seven seasons, and while he appeared in 68 games in 2023-24, he missed four of Los Angeles’ six playoff games. His withdrawal from Team USA is likely do to health concerns, and White - fresh off a championship with Boston - will replace him on the roster. White joins teammates Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday.

After a breakout season with Boston, White is getting rewarded. He averaged multiple career-highs, including 4.2 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.0 steal, 1.2 blocks and 2.7 triples, while playing an instrumental role in Boston’s title run. They’ll have him under contract through the 2028-29 season as they look to chase more titles with this core.