The Boston Celtics have found their groove.
They entered the season as not only the defending champions but also as the best team in the league.
January was not kind to them, but they have turned things around and shown why they are the best team in the league in February. In their last 15 games, they have gone 12-3 and are peaking at the right time.
That was evident in their matchup against the New York Knicks on Sunday. Although the Knicks made their run, they dominated that game in the fourth quarter, and their star guard, Derrick White, played a massive role.
White was incredible in the win over the Knicks, and you never would have thought that he struggled earlier this season when you looked at his numbers, but that was the case in December and January. However, that is all in the past as White has found his groove, and his teammates love it.
Celtics star duo Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum want to see their teammates succeed, and that was the case with white while he was slumping.
“Just encourage it. Encourage it,” Brown said. “I think that over the course, things may get away from you or you just might think things are going in your direction or the way you planned and that can be discouraging. I just try to encourage our guys to be aggressive and to be who they are … throughout the regular season you’ve got to encourage everybody to be aggressive because you want everybody feeling good going into the playoffs.”
As for Tatum, he reminds White every day about how much he means to the team.
White was fantastic in the win over the Knicks, where he recorded 19 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the field, nine rebounds, seven assists, and one steal in 37 minutes of action.
Prior to the game, White spoke to the media on Saturday and talked about getting his joy back on the court.
“I don’t know, I would just go into the arena and I just didn’t have the same amount of joy and my energy kind of affected it,” White said. “I think that’s just when I’m at my best, when I’m having fun, my energy is high, and I’m just doing a lot of different things.”
“So, I think during that time when I wasn’t playing well, it just all combined into the reason why I probably wasn’t playing really well. So, just trying to come back, be excited and just do what I do best.”
The Celtics are on fire and White is one of the main reasons.
