Is Derrick White becoming Boston’s “King of the Fourth”?

Boston’s star guard knows how to turn it on when the lights are the brightest.

Derrick White has been the ultimate utility guy since coming to Boston in 2022. He has the ability to fill in any gap, and calling him a “role player” somehow seems like the most apt descriptor of what he does for the Celtics, yet an insult to his ability. While he may not be a superstar, there’s nothing he can’t do on the court. Maybe the most underrated aspect of his game is his ability to elevate his play when it comes time to close out games.

Fans may remember his infamous buzzer-beating tip-in in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat back in 2023. That put-back came with mere milliseconds left on the clock before the release.

While Boston’s playoff run ultimately fell short after Jayson Tatum sprained his ankle in the first minutes of Game 7, Derrick’s game-winner still lives in the minds of Celtics and Heat fans alike. When the Celtics made it back to the playoffs this past season, White averaged 16.7 points, 4.1 assists, 4.3 rebounds, 0.9 steals, and 1.2 blocks with a 45.2 FG% and 40.4 3P%. In that run, he made several defining plays which put Boston on the path to victory.

The season is young, but Derrick is already off to a stellar start. Through seventeen games, he’s averaging 18.4 points, 4.3 assists, 4.7 rebounds, 0.8 steals, and 1.2 blocks while shooting 47% from the floor and 40.6% from 3-point range. The points, rebounds, and 3P% are all career highs (with the exception of his rookie year where he shot 61.5% from three on just 13 total attempts).

The shooting splits are already great, but they get even more impressive when we take a look at the 4^th quarter. He’s shooting a wild 53.7 FG% with a 50.0 3P% and 87.5 FT%, with only one missed free throw so far. It’s not on low volume either, with 3.4 FGA and 2.1 3PA per game.

Boston found itself in a tight competition in all of their last four games, beating out Toronto, Cleveland, Washington, and Minnesota by a combined 20 points, twelve of those points came from the matchup with the Wizards where they inexplicably repeatedly intentionally fouled the Celtics, allowing them to run up the score in what was otherwise a 5-point game with around 30 seconds left.

In those four games, Derrick had a combined 30 4^th quarter points on 11/19 shooting. If we remove the Toronto game from the mix, his only sub-50% shooting performance at 2/6, his FG% jumps from 57.8% to 69.2%, which, in case you didn’t know, is insanely efficient.

If we look at Boston’s three losses, those coming against Atlanta, Golden State, and Indiana, the efficiency somehow gets even better. In those three games, Derrick put up a combined 28 points on 10/13 shooting, an unreal 76.9%. Of those 10 makes, 8 of them were three-pointers. In the Atlanta and Indiana games, he connected on every single one of his combined 7 shots.

Derrick has been one of Boston’s most reliable players when it’s time to get a bucket, and the best part about it is that he still does so much more on the court whenever he’s out there. He makes all the right plays on offense, and he’s a defensive menace, too. Earlier this season, in a close game with Detroit, Derrick helped over from the corner on what looked like a wide-open dunk for Cade Cunningham and managed to meet him at the apex to deny the basket which would have tied the game with under a minute to play. The Celtics would go on to win that game by just 6 points.

When it comes down to it, White is always ready to deliver. In 4^th quarters, he’s third on the team in PPG, trailing only Jaylen and Jayson, Derrick averaging 5.1 and the other two at 6.9 and 5.5 respectively. He’s also fourth in FG%, only behind Luke Kornet, Neemias Queta, and Jrue Holiday while shooting a higher volume than all three. In terms of 3P%, he leads the team at 50%. We won’t tolerate any Isaiah Thomas erasure in my household, but Derrick may be bringing back the crown as Boston’s King of the Fourth.