{"id":133733,"date":"2025-04-12T11:09:37","date_gmt":"2025-04-12T15:09:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=133733"},"modified":"2025-04-14T17:19:55","modified_gmt":"2025-04-14T21:19:55","slug":"celtics-all-defensive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/04\/12\/celtics-all-defensive\/","title":{"rendered":"Evaluating the All-Defensive Chances of Key Celtics Players"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the NBA regular season nearing an end, award conversations<\/a> are heating up. For the Boston Celtics, Jayson Tatum<\/a> will finish top-five maybe top-three in MVP voting<\/a> and Payton Pritchard<\/a> is the frontrunner for Sixth Man of the Year<\/a>. The Celtics have built their championship core around two-way balance including elite defense. Notably, they have the fifth-best defense<\/a> this season. With that in mind, let’s explore if any Celtics deserve to make an All-Defensive<\/a>\u00a0team.<\/p>\n

Evaluating the All-Defensive Chances of Key Celtics Players<\/h2>\n

Derrick White<\/h3>\n

Celtics guard Derrick White<\/a> has the best All-Defensive case. The two-time All-Defensive player is hoping to make his third consecutive appearance. White’s combination of elite on-ball defense and versatile help defense makes him one of the most impactful defenders in the league. White posts an impressive defensive field goal percentage of 44<\/a> and ranks within the 90th percentile in estimated defensive plus-minus<\/a>. Notably, White<\/a> has locked up All-Star-level players this season including Darius Garland<\/a> (26.7 percent from the field), Jalen Brunson<\/a> (36.4), Ja Morant<\/a> (35.7), and Tyrese Haliburton<\/a> (35.7); these numbers highlight his elite on-ball defense.<\/p>\n

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NBA teams are still falling into this Derrick White trap pic.twitter.com\/z75x3H5XD1<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Jack Simone (@JackSimoneNBA) March 5, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n