[Forsberg] 13 for 13, Part 1: Assessing Celtics’ core four starters through 13 games
November 13, 2025
[Forsberg] 13 for 13, Part 1: Assessing Celtics’ core four starters through 13 games
2 comments
From Chris Forsberg:
With this three-day break, we’re taking a step back and offering 13 thoughts and 13 notable stats from the 13 roster players who have touched the floor for Boston so far this season through 13 games.
In Part 1 of our three-part series, we’ll focus on the Celtics’ core four starters. Next up Friday will be the team’s key reserves.
**Derrick White**
*One number: 29.2*
That’s White’s 3-point percentage this season, down 9.2 percent from last season and 10.4 percent from Boston’s title campaign. His shot-making woes extend to other portions of the court — including at the rim (down 14 percent from last season) and in the short midrange (down 24 percent from last season).
*One thought*
Would it be oversimplifying things to suggest that much of Boston’s woes can be traced solely to White’s shot-making? It probably would.
White has still been elite at generating “Stocks” (steals plus blocks) and ranks eighth in the NBA with 2.85 Stocks per game. His assist percentage is up and his turnover percentage is way down. The Celtics still have a solid +4.2 net rating in his team-high 422 minutes of floor time.
Still, we can’t help but wonder if White making 3s more consistently would mask some of the team’s missteps. We don’t suspect those shooting woes will persist, and White should eventually thrive, even with additional attention this season.
> Would it be oversimplifying things to suggest that much of Boston’s woes can be traced solely to White’s shot-making? It probably would.
Even when we had Jrue and Porzingis, this team struggled when Derrick White struggled. There’s just no denying his impact. This should only be even more true on this team that doesn’t have Tatum, Jrue, or Porzingis. If he was the barometer of the stacked team, what is he to this team that doesn’t have that talent?
2 comments
From Chris Forsberg:
With this three-day break, we’re taking a step back and offering 13 thoughts and 13 notable stats from the 13 roster players who have touched the floor for Boston so far this season through 13 games.
In Part 1 of our three-part series, we’ll focus on the Celtics’ core four starters. Next up Friday will be the team’s key reserves.
**Derrick White**
*One number: 29.2*
That’s White’s 3-point percentage this season, down 9.2 percent from last season and 10.4 percent from Boston’s title campaign. His shot-making woes extend to other portions of the court — including at the rim (down 14 percent from last season) and in the short midrange (down 24 percent from last season).
*One thought*
Would it be oversimplifying things to suggest that much of Boston’s woes can be traced solely to White’s shot-making? It probably would.
White has still been elite at generating “Stocks” (steals plus blocks) and ranks eighth in the NBA with 2.85 Stocks per game. His assist percentage is up and his turnover percentage is way down. The Celtics still have a solid +4.2 net rating in his team-high 422 minutes of floor time.
Still, we can’t help but wonder if White making 3s more consistently would mask some of the team’s missteps. We don’t suspect those shooting woes will persist, and White should eventually thrive, even with additional attention this season.
[Read more here](https://www.nbcsportsboston.com/nba/boston-celtics/jaylen-brown-derrick-white-payton-pritchard-neemias-queta/747060/).
> Would it be oversimplifying things to suggest that much of Boston’s woes can be traced solely to White’s shot-making? It probably would.
Even when we had Jrue and Porzingis, this team struggled when Derrick White struggled. There’s just no denying his impact. This should only be even more true on this team that doesn’t have Tatum, Jrue, or Porzingis. If he was the barometer of the stacked team, what is he to this team that doesn’t have that talent?