Three leaf clover: Derrick White’s impact, team rebounding, and should we be worried?

Well, the In-Season Tournament was fun while it lasted. At least we don’t have to look at the courts anymore. Amongst the ugly, we had Tyrese Haliburton’s “jump shot,” which will probably haunting my nightmares for quite some time, as it usually does after he lights up the Celtics. The strange thing this season is that despite the Celtics successes, something just doesn’t feel quite right. I’ll jump into that in section 3, but first, basketball stuff.

Stat of the Week: +14.1 efficiency differential

Derrick White somehow keeps getting away with it. Every season, Derrick White’s team obliterates people when he’s on the court. This year, per Cleaning the Glass (who filter out garbage time), the Celtics are 14.1 points per 100 possessions better with Derrick White on the court. It is, by far, the best figure on the Celtics.

While White may not be a traditional stat stuffer, his impact is undeniable. Correlation doesn’t equal causation, but Derrick’s positive effect spans across multiple seasons, in multiple contexts, and in multiple uniforms. He possesses the unique combination of being able to make extremely quick decisions while minimizing mistakes. Traditional stats are helpful, but there will always be players that traditional stats underrate. Derrick White is the poster boy for that particular phenomenon.

Xs and OOOhhhhhhssss: elite team rebounding

You might be asking yourself, “is this dude about to write several paragraphs about rebounding?” The answer to that would be an unfortunate yes. I apologize in advance.

The Celtics finished 1st in defensive rebound percentage last season, but a disappointing 27th in offensive rebound percentage. The duality of man. With Robert Williams out the door, Al Horford a year older, and Porzingis set to play heavy minutes (who has been historically a poor defensive rebounder in his career), it was fair to be skeptical that they’d keep that level.

Well, they technically haven’t, but by any measure, they’ve been excellent anyway. The Cs have tumbled all the way to 3rd in DREB% — unforgivable! The good news is that the offensive rebounding has rebounded (sorry) all the way to a mighty 16th. That leaves the Celtics a very healthy 3rd in total rebound percentage in the league, up from 9th last year.

The Celtics aren’t small, but they also don’t have one of those rebounding monsters found on other elite teams like Philly, Denver, Milwaukee, or the Monstars. It’s a team…