Boston Celtics guard Derrick White was called an NBA All-Star by Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle, and Jaylen Brown doubled down on it during his postgame interviews by calling White one of the frontrunners for the Defensive Player of the Year award.
White had a decent performance against the Indiana Pacers in their 119-104 home win on Wednesday, recording 13 points, five rebounds, and five assists on 4-for-10 shooting from the field. The Boston Celtics star also logged a +18 in the plus-minus statistic, highlighting his solid two-way impact.
“Derrick White is an All-Star. He’s an All-Star player, I mean, the guy is 8th in the league in blocked shots. He’s such an important part of their team,” Carlisle said of White via Noa Dalzell of SB Nation.
“I think Derrick White has been playing at an All-Star level. One, because he plays both sides of the ball. And that’s no disrespect to some of those other guys that are maybe in All-Star contention — but it’s a clear difference,” Brown added. “I think Derrick is a First Team All-Defense type of ballot, or maybe even Defensive Player of the Year.”
Boston Celtics News: Jaylen Brown quips about the team’s uptick in free throws
The Boston Celtics have noticeably attempted more free throws in the past few games, including 55 in their last two against the Indiana Pacers and the Detroit Pistons, and Jaylen Brown joked that he has an idea why.
“Maybe it was the fine,” Brown quipped. “But that’s important. When you’re playing good teams, regardless of the X’s and O’s, if you’re getting to the free throw line less than 10 times a game, it’s tough to win a ball game.”
“Especially with the physicality, etc., I’ll just keep putting pressure on the rim and keep trying to find ways to get those calls because it benefits us in the long run,” he ended.
