The myth of NBA “dad strength” grew a bit with the recent surge in play by Boston Celtics reserve guard Derrick White‘s recent spate of solid play, the former San Antonio Spur’s boost in output seeming to coincide with the birth of his and his wife’s first child, Hendrix.
Since sitting out a game in the East finals against the Miami Heat for the birth of his child, White has logged 13 points, 3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.3 steals, and a block per game while shooting a sizzling 42.9% from beyond the arc. The scoring and shooting in particular are both notable jumps over his career average of 11.5 points and 34.0% respectively.
Asked about his apparent dad strength after practice Saturday ahead of Game 2 of the NBA Finals series against the Golden State Warriors, the Colorado native replied “I don’t know what happened, whether it’s Hendrix or I was feeling good. I wasn’t making shots for a little bit there, but I kept staying confident.”
Celtics Lab 118: Divining how Golden State will respond to Boston’s Game 1 win with Tommy Call III https://t.co/wofjEFExsh
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) June 4, 2022
“Everybody stayed confident in me and started getting some to go down,” he added. “Just understand that whatever defense throws at me, be able to read and react and have that confidence.”
If the key to dad strength is something as simple as a firmer foundation of confidence from which to play on, White has been deploying it to great success for himself and his team in the NBA Finals.
No one is likely regretting the hire Stevens made in Ime Udoka, but this is an interesting ‘what-if’. https://t.co/boIWB489oy
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) June 5, 2022
But whether it actually exists or is simply an NBA-specific placebo effect in action, a more confident, aggressive White has been exactly what the team has needed.
And will need, if it hopes to win it all.
This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!
