Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla named Derrick White the team’s starting point guard for the upcoming season after trading away Marcus Smart in the acquisition of Kristaps Porzingis.

White has been a natural point guard throughout his basketball journey but he hasn’t truly run an offense since his first two years in the NBA with the Spurs from 2017-19 averaging 3.9 assists per game.

As a rookie, White registered 45 percent of his minutes as a point guard followed by 83 percent the following year, both of which are career highs for White from the point guard position.

With the emergence of Dejounte Murray, White’s usage at point guard declined in San Antonio as he slid down to the two spot and became a defensive specialist and dual threat guard.

The numbers reflect that White can be a legitimate facilitator as a point guard when he’s given proper opportunities to run the floor. Now pairing his skills with his NBA experience, it’s fair to say that White can be the floor general that Boston needs for this season.

Here’s what White said about being named starting point guard for the Celtics:

“I don’t think it will be a big adjustment. I’m just going to have the ball in my hands more, which I’ve done pretty much most of my career, so just getting back to that and just getting the guys in the right spot.”

Bobby Manning of CLNS Media recently interviewed White’s longtime basketball trainer and friend, Marcus Mason, on what White has been doing to prepare for the season ahead with a new defined role as lead point guard.

“One of our number one goals coming into this summer was for him to gain more upper body strength… I really wanted him to be stronger in that upper body to be able to take on some of the contact that I saw him receive in the playoffs.”

It’s worth mentioning that Mason has been working with White since he was in the seventh grade, so if there is anyone who understands what he needs to do to be successful, it’s Mason.

And that’s why Celtics assistant coach Sam Cassell met with White and Mason in Colorado this summer for a workout and to get a feel for what will work well for White in addition to sharing some late game play execution, as Mason shared in the interview with Manning.

In all, we should feel comfortable and confident with White running the show as the team’s point guard. He hasn’t let us down yet since he’s been in Boston.

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Photo Credit: Matt Slocum, AP Photo