Derrick White explains how opposing defenses are preparing the Boston Celtics for the postseason

Justin Quinn
·2 min read
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The Boston Celtics might have been down four of their best players against the Miami Heat in their 98-95 road loss on Tuesday night, but Derrick White wasn’t about to use that as an excuse for Boston going ice cold on offense in the fourth quarter. “When guys are out, someone else is going to step up,” he suggested while speaking to the press after the game via CLNS Media.

“A lot of teams try to be physical (with the Celtics),” White explained. “They try to make the game physical. We had to fight for our space in that aspect, but we’ve seen switching, we’ve seen drop (coverage), we’ve seen blitzes. I’m going to continue to see a lot of different coverages (from opposing defenses).”

“That’s just going to prepare us for the playoffs, where we’re going to see it all at once,” he added. “I think we’ve got to do a good job of reading what (other teams) are trying to do, and then execute off of that.”

White gave an example of how he and his teammates have to make the right read in an instant, sharing that opposing squads are “closing out hard” on Boston’s shooters.

“Sometimes you can still get enough space to let it fly, and sometimes, you might pump-fake and they don’t jump or whatever it might be, so (it’s) just making that split-second decision each and every time and trying to get us the best look.”

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Story originally appeared on Celtics Wire