Derrick White misplaced his pleasure. His Celtics teammates helped him discover it.

BOSTON — On a cold Wednesday night time in Toronto, Derrick White realized he merely didn’t really feel like himself.

That very same night time, the Celtics suffered what was maybe their worst lack of the season, a 110-97 defeat by the hands of the Raptors — one of many league’s weakest groups on the time.

White had one in all his worst video games as a Celtic, ending with 6 factors on 2-9 taking pictures and a team-worst +/- of -29 in an uncharacteristically low 21 minutes on the ground.

White wasn’t used to struggling; he had been on a steep upward trajectory since Joe Mazzulla took over as coach, between his All-Star caliber 2023-24 season and the following NBA championship.

However, in his eighth season as a professional, one thing simply felt totally different.

“I used to be going into the sector, and simply didn’t have the identical quantity of pleasure,” he admitted at apply on Saturday.

The sometimes jubilant aspect of Derrick White is palpable. It’s some of the noticeable elements of the Celtics behind the scenes.

Only for enjoyable, White concludes each apply with a prolonged trick shot competitors with the assistant coaches. He’s always cracking jokes and teasing his teammates. When he’s actually feeling it, after hitting a deep one from behind the arc, he playfully searches his pocket for an additional three-pointer.

Although he’s normally fairly reserved on the podium, White is oftentimes the chattiest within the locker room.

Final 12 months, throughout the NBA Finals, a number of Celtics gamers advised CelticsBlog he was unequivocally one of many funniest gamers on the group; the extra time you spend across the 30-year-old guard, the extra noticeable his upbeat persona is.

“That’s once I’m at my greatest — once I’m having enjoyable and my vitality is excessive,” White mentioned.

For a second, nevertheless, it simply wasn’t there.

Derrick White’s struggles coincided with the Celtics’ slide

From December seventh to January twenty third, the Celtics recorded a 12-9 document, one in all their worst stretches in recent times.

In that span, White averaged 13.9 factors and shot 40.9% from the sphere, considerably beneath his pre-slump averages of 18.4 factors on 47.8% taking pictures.

These numbers don’t essentially bounce out. Each NBA participant goes by a section of the season that’s much less environment friendly than their norm.

Nonetheless, they have been taking a toll.

After a Dec. 29 loss to the Pacers, White was candid in regards to the group’s struggles, going as far as to say it was essentially the most troublesome stint of his Celtics tenure.

“I believe this could be the hardest stretch that I’ve been on since I’ve been right here with the Celtics,” he mentioned.

It was a few issues . With Kristaps Porzingis again within the lineup, White’s shot makes an attempt have been down. And, even when he had attractiveness, he “shot like crap,” he proclaimed. On the identical time, he started making some uncharacteristic errors on the courtroom that had nothing to do with taking pictures, like fouling three-point shooters on quite a few events.

“Throughout that point once I wasn’t enjoying nicely, it sort of simply all mixed,” White mentioned. “Most likely why I wasn’t enjoying nicely.”

Jayson Tatum, one in all White’s closest mates on the group, remembers these couple of weeks vividly.

“I do not forget that stretch — and everyone felt for him as a result of he’s such an amazing particular person and, clearly, an amazing participant,” Tatum mentioned. “You see firsthand how exhausting guys work, and the way unhealthy they need issues to go the suitable manner.”

Jaylen Brown, one of many Celtics’ most vocal leaders, had a transparent message for White on the time: deal with the issues that you would be able to management.

“The one factor that we want for you, regardless, is to play protection,” Brown mentioned, recalling his message to his teammate throughout that stretch.

Derrick White’s pleasure is again, and the Celtics are successful once more

White’s taking pictures numbers are manner again up. This month, he’s averaging 16.8 factors and taking pictures 50% from the sphere, together with 45.5% from three.

The Celtics’ success — so carefully correlated with White’s particular person efficiency — has adopted. They’ve received 10 of the final 11 video games the 6’4 guard has performed, and have improved to a 41-16 document.

On Sunday towards the Knicks, White performed with the identical free-flowing confidence that has made him some of the pivotal gamers on the Celtics since he was acquired in 2022.

Within the fourth quarter, with New York crawling again into the sport after trailing by as many as 27, he went an ideal 3-3 from three, matching every of the Knicks’ massive pictures with ones of his personal.

Kristaps Porzingis grinned when requested about White’s efficiency.

“One factor I like about him, he all the time hits massive pictures,” Porzingis mentioned. “He has this in his blood.”

Mazzulla agrees.

“When he’s at his greatest, he performs carefree, he makes massive pictures like he did tonight, and he simply defends at a brilliant excessive stage,” Mazzulla mentioned.

Joe Mazzulla believes White’s struggles have been inevitable

Joe Mazzulla has maintained he’s glad that the Celtics as a group went by a tougher stretch earlier within the season. He holds that very same optimistic perspective for the struggles of his star level guard.

“You must undergo that. I’m glad he went by it,” Mazzulla mentioned. “It was vital for his development. It was vital for us to see him battle — as a result of it reveals how a lot we want him, and it’s vital for him to struggle for that confidence.”

Mazzulla additionally defined why he thinks White went by the stretch that he did.

“As you turn out to be a greater participant, which he’s carried out since he’s gotten right here and with the success that he’s had, the expectations rise,” he mentioned. “And when the expectations rise, it’s straightforward for the enjoyment to be robbed, and that’s simply sort of the pure ebbs and stream of a profession.”

White doesn’t know precisely when the enjoyment returned. He jokes that he merely needed to inform himself to “simply knock it off.”

However, after the Toronto loss, he labored deliberately to shift his outlook.

“From that time on, I’m making an attempt to [accept that] making pictures, lacking pictures is a part of the sport,” White mentioned. “However [I’ve been] making an attempt to have that proper vitality and mindset, and it’s been higher since then.”

And, whereas he labored to regain his mojo, he had his teammates’ full assist.

“Me and D-White are tremendous shut, and I inform him daily to be aggressive,” Tatum mentioned. “We’re all the time in communication throughout the recreation simply speaking by issues. We clearly wouldn’t be who we’re with out D-White. Him discovering his pleasure is tremendous vital to our success.”

Tatum and Brown have each been there earlier than — the 2 perennial All-Stars have gone by their very own slumps, and so they’ve additionally needed to struggle to achieve repeatedly rising expectations.

“It’s not all the time excellent, and you would like it could be, however that’s our job as teammates: to maintain him inspired, maintain his confidence excessive, as a result of we want him,” Tatum mentioned.

At apply Saturday, White howled throughout his trick shot competitors with the assistants, a smile pasted throughout his face.

The subsequent day, he posted a quintessential D-White stat line: 19 factors on 7-10 taking pictures, 9 rebounds, and seven assists.

In flip, the Celtics routed their division rival.

“He’s among the best level guards within the league,” Mazzulla mentioned. “When he performs like that, we’re a unique group.”