Derrick White credits his and the Celtics’ unsuccessful experience against Warriors superstar Steph Curry in the 2022 NBA Finals as a key reason why Boston defeated the Dallas Mavericks for the Larry O'Brien Trophy in 2024.
Mavericks guards Kyrie Irving and Luka Dončić were challenging matchups for the Celtics, but the pair didn’t -- and won’t -- compare to Curry, who won Finals MVP against White and Co.
In a recent appearance on “The Young Man and The Three” with Tommy Alter, White explained what lesson his team learned from their run-in with the greatest shooter in league history.
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“I mean Steph obviously went crazy against us,” White told Alter. “We were a different team, but he just imposes his will and we really didn’t have an answer for that. Whereas, like if Luka or Kyrie went on a run or hit a tough shot, we just kind of got it out and we moved on, we didn’t let it snowball as much as in ‘22.”
In six Finals games against Boston, Curry averaged 31.2 points on 43.7-percent 3-point shooting with 6.0 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals -- unreal.
The Celtics, on the other hand, had better luck against Irving and Dončić. Irving was limited to 19.8 points on 41.4-percent shooting from the field and Dončić averaged 29.2 points on 47.2 percent from the field but, as White mentioned, Boston was able to limit Dallas’ scoring runs better than against Golden State.
Additionally, White had the rare experience of playing against and with Curry as a member of Team USA’s 2024 Paris Summer Olympics team; it went much better for White than in 2022.
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“It’s much better to be on the same side when it’s going like that,” White said. “Especially early on, he wasn’t making shots like he normally does so you kind of knew that he was eventually going to explode. Those last four shots … the first two were just good offense, and then after that, it’s just special to watch. …
“I think that was a cool part; we compete against each other at a high level the whole year, but now it’s that mutual respect, what we’re watching is special. This is all-time. This is one of the best players to ever touch a basketball and just to be a part of a team like that…”
White, an eight-year NBA veteran, now has plenty of big-time experience on the court with Curry. And the Celtics guard has picked up a trend among teams who struggle against the Warriors’ 10-time NBA All-Star.
“Steph hits a couple of threes in a row, and the other team forgets how to play basketball a bit,” White recalled of Curry’s 3-point flurry against France in the gold medal game. “I joke around, Steph hit that last three and he’s just running around in circles not even playing defense. …”
White credited Irving and Dončić for the challenges they posed during the Finals and said they required “just 48 minutes of locked-in on the game plan.”
But, as White said, Curry is just a different animal.
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