The Houston Rockets, who are not in good shape, were put on a painful mask by the league's No. 1 Celtics away, losing by 32 points while also making the opponent write a new history, with a single-season home record of 19-0, and the undefeated golden body has not been broken. With the results of the 2024 All-Star second round voting coming out, Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Porzingis have successfully entered the Eastern frontcourt lineup, while the backcourt combination of White and Holiday are ranked seventh and ninth in the Eastern backcourt respectively, which also confirms the Celtics' strong fan base, excellent team basketball and league-leading record have become the main reasons for them to stand out, but it is undeniable that the team's management has contributed to it.
Last season, the Celtics were eliminated by the Miami Heat, and the Celtics who stopped in the Eastern Conference began to optimize the lineup, and the general manager Stevens team gave up the defensive titan Smart and replaced the operation of forward Porzingis was questioned, this interior unicorn with injury attributes is not worth the team to pay such a big price for it, this is undoubtedly a big gamble, but the balance of victory favors the Green Shirts, Porzingis averaged 19.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2 assists per game, and his outstanding play helped the team achieve transformation. On the other hand, Smart and Morant also played an all-round performance, but the ruthless injuries made them watch from the sidelines, and perhaps the mess is their main theme this season.
Putting aside the appearance and looking at the essence, the only reason that can make Stevens send away the best defense may be Derrick White, combined with last season's performance, the Boston Celtics played flawlessly in the regular season, especially the performance on the defensive end, Smart's achievements are undoubted, but in the final best team selection, Derrick White's invisibility made the management shaken! However, this season, White is becoming more and more mature, averaging 15.7 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.2 blocks per game, such an all-round performance is not the root of his All-Star selection, 47.4% shooting rate and career-setting 41% three-point shooting rate, successfully shouldering the team's organizational responsibility.
In the 2023-2024 season, White's salary will reach 17.6 million, and he will become a free agent in the summer of 2025, but the Boston Celtics will not let him go. In Stevens' view, the asking price of an average salary of 40 million is really a bit high, and the two sides are still negotiating, but for White and his agent, they fully understand their situation, maybe the next contract is one of the few opportunities for him to chase the top salary, and it may be difficult to reappear once he misses it.
Claxton, a blue-collar center for the Nets, hopes to stay in Brooklyn for a long time, and his annual salary will be controlled at 20 million-25 million, averaging 12.2 points, 9.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 2.3 blocks per game, but the comparison with White was directly defeated, and at the same time, considering that the new TV contract is finalized in the future, the value of the players will increase in multiples, and the annual salary of 70 million is probably not worth mentioning. For those so-called contract-year "fraudsters," White proved himself worth the money. The only players in the entire league who have averaged 15 points, 5 assists, 1 steal and 1 block per game are Embiid, Brother Alphabet and White, who can be compared to the two regular season MVPs, and his strength is undoubted.