Boston Celtics reserve guard Derrick White found himself transitioning from a club not trying to win too many games to a team trying to win as many as possible after a slow start last season, and did about as good of a job as one might hope, helping his team to within two wins of an NBA title.
Now, after two-thirds of a season’s worth of play on his new team under his belt, the Colorado native is feeling a lot more comfortable as the Celtics prepare for a return to action in this season’s training camp. “It’s been fun,” he said in a post-practice interview (via CLNS) with the press on Friday.
“Some competitive back-and-forth working on the little things that we need to work on, and it’s the third day, so it’s a good starting point., and I like where we’re at.”
Celtics Lab 144: Talking training camp and setting season goals with Gary Gulman https://t.co/1NV9SFLo56 via @thecelticswire
— Celtics Lab Podcast (@CelticsLab) September 29, 2022
“It’s similar,” White added. “A lot of similar stuff that we did last year. Having that year under my belt, I felt a little more comfortable. There’s a lot similar to what we did in San Antonio as well.”
Some of that comfort level comes from the low degree of turnover for the team, who return virtually all of their 2022 NBA Playoff roster who saw floor time in the postseason.
“We got a lot of guys back from last year’s team, so not a lot of explaining things,” suggested the Celtics guard. “Just a little bit here and there. We feel like we’re in a good, good spot, and we just have to continue to work on it.”
With his comfort level solid and his confidence in his teammates high, this season should be more amenable to the Colorado State product to spread his wings in Boston.
And with the Celtics needing the stability White can provide more than ever at the start of this season, that couldn’t occur at a more opportune time.
Kidd met Russell early in life through his godfather Jim Hadnot, a lifelong friend of the Celtics legend. https://t.co/1U4PvdVKZI
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) October 1, 2022
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