The NBA’s most renowned rivalry is that between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers. D’Angelo Russell has nevertheless drawn inspiration from one of the C’s major players despite this.
Derrick White has served as my inspiration. Russell said following the Lakers’ Sunday loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, “I want to be Derrick White. “He makes all the winning plays and doesn’t get much credit for it, and that’s who I want to
White, who first heard of Russell’s comments via a text from one of his friends, was pleasantly surprised by the admission.
“I woke up to it and I was shocked, really,” White told The Athletic . “Obviously D-Lo’s an All-Star, has done a lot of great things in this league, a highly talented player. So it’s cool to get recognized like that, especially by a guy who’s done so much in the league like he has.”
Since arriving in Beantown midway through the 2021-22 season, White has asserted himself as a vital part of Boston’s future. While far from the biggest name on the Celtics roster, White is a necessary piece of Boston’s championship-caliber team. Earning second-team All-Defensive honors last season, he is the epitome of a glue player, featuring a versatile skillset ranging from locking down the opposition’s best scoring threat to running the point to knocking down 38.1% of his threes.
As for Russell, the former No. 2 overall pick has carved out an All-Star caliber career in the NBA by functioning mainly as an offensive-first guard. However, after being benched during last season’s Western Conference finals against the Denver Nuggets, Russell is intent on rounding out his game.
So far so good for Russell, who has flashed defensively this preseason, averaging 1.2 steals and 0.8 blocks per game. As for his offensive game, it’s still as good as ever, averaging 14.6 points in 20.7 minutes per game while shooting an outstanding 55.6% from beyond the arc.
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