The Boston Celtics season is right around the corner, and the timing couldn't be better. After a busy offseason, it's almost time to see the new-look Celtics on the court. If Boston wants to have a successful season, it'll need guard Derrick White to have a better offensive season than he did last year.
Last season saw White enter a new role that he had never had in his NBA career before, being a top-scoring option for the Celtics. This came on the heels of Boston trading away Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday, and Jayson Tatum missing most of the season rehabbing his ruptured Achilles tendon. With this bigger role, White's overall offense suffered, with his new role and skill set not meshing together.
Now that White will be in a role that's more similar to the one he had during his tenure in Boston, his regaining his offense will help dictate whether or not Boston has a successful season.
Boston needs a bounce-back season from Derrick White
If you were to just look at White's points per game, you'd think he had a good season offensively, averaging 16.5 points, a career high. But his shooting percentages tell a different story. Before arriving in Boston, the Colorado native was a streaky shooter, but ever since joining the Celtics, he has become a much more efficient offensive player.
Looking at the three prior years, White's worst shooting percentages were 44.2% from the field (2024-25 season) and 38.1% from three (2022-23 season). Both of those are still good for White. His shooting splits last season dropped dramatically, shooting 39.4% from the field and 32.7% from three.
Those aren't just his worst shooting percentages with the Celtics, but also his career-low shooting percentages. The playoffs weren't any better, with White's percentages dropping again to 32.1% from the field and 27.3% from three, and only scoring 11.1 points per game.
White has been one of the most important members of the Celtics ever since they traded for him at the 2022 NBA deadline, and it won't be any different this season. He's still a valuable asset on defense, but Boston needs his shooting to be much better this season. White's shooting has been critical to the Celtics' offense working, and with the Eastern Conference being much stronger this year than in years past, they'll need him to be better.
Why Derrick White could return to form for the Celtics
A reason for fans to be hopeful that White is better at shooting the ball is that he will be in a more familiar role.
Jayson Tatum is back and will be Boston's number one option. While Jaylen Brown is gone, Boston does have Paul George, who'll still be important to Boston's offense, alongside Payton Pritchard, who should see a bigger offensive role as well.
White was tasked with being one of Boston's main creators last season, which led defenses to guard him more tightly than in the past. With more initiators on offense, White's role is more in line with his previous roles.
One thing for certain is that Boston will look much different this season than they did last. George replaces Brown, along with the Celtics' top free-agent signing, Mitchell Robinson. White's shooting returning to form would help ease the roster changes.
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