If a team wants to win the championship, it can't rely on the star alone, and some other core players must also be able to step up at critical moments, only then can the team really have the qualifications to attack the championship. is as strong as the Nuggets, and when there is no Murray, they are at the level of the Western Conference semifinals, and in addition to Jokic and Murray, like Gordon and Porter Jr. have also had highlight moments in the playoffs to save the team by themselves.
There is also the Timberwolves, who were able to rise this year and once pressed the defending champion in the series, not only because of Edwards' outburst, but also because of the rebound of the playoffs of the second-in-command Towns, the explosive feeling of the sixth man, and Conley's steady playmaking ability. Of course, there is also the Thunder, in addition to Alexander, although Jay and Holmgren are both playing in the playoffs for the first time, their play is worthy of their core identity, and when Alexander needs others to share the pressure with him, players like the Thunder can also stand up and respond.
The reason why the Celtics are the favorites to win the championship this season is that there are too many people who can break out in the playoffs, in addition to the big man Tatum, Brown is also an All-Star level player, and Holiday and Porzingis, who were strengthened last year, are not only very distinctive in offense and defense, but also very suitable for the Celtics' system, and many times their influence on the game is not felt by looking at the data.
Speaking of the Celtics, it is impossible to ignore their starting point guard White, who was traded to Boston in the middle of the season, and then immediately worked seamlessly with his new club and helped the team reach the Finals again in 12 years in the playoffs. Since last season, White has been slowly corrected, and his status in the team has gradually reached a position second only to Tatum and Brown, and he can have such a position naturally by his own strength.
As a defensive defender, White doesn't need him to score many points on the offensive end, his main task is to help the team sort out the offense or play the role of a tactical initiator, and the better he does in this regard, the more Brown can focus on the scoring he is good at. Defensively, White has an excellent ability to switch defenses, and his ball intelligence and physicality have helped him to handle mismatches and help defend, which is why he has earned Mazzulla's trust.
And not only are people on their own team optimistic about White, at the beginning of this season, Russell, the starting point guard of the Lakers, publicly stated that White was the object he tried to imitate on the defensive end, but now it seems that Russell is just talking casually, and his performance on the defensive end is not even half of White's level. It is worth mentioning that James's son Bronny, who is currently participating in an NBA tryout, also expressed his appreciation for White in an interview, and he also believes that his future development direction is a player like White.
And this season's regular season White's progress obviously did not disappoint so many people who were optimistic about him, and with one more outside Holiday player, White's ball possession not only did not decrease, but increased. Therefore, his average data per game has also risen to 15.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists, which seems inconspicuous, but in fact, his average points per game can rank third in the team, and his average assists per game are ranked first in the team.
From the Celtics, you sometimes even feel that White is simply more important than Brown, especially on the offensive end, his ability to carry the ball, not to the ball, and also keep the team's tactics running smoothly is too important. And White is stronger than Holiday in his breakthrough ability, which makes it easier to change the opponent's defensive formation, considering Brown's average control and Tatum's breakthrough is a relatively stretched factor among stars, the Green Army is very much in need of White's impact.
In the playoffs, when Tatum was mediocre, White took on more tasks in the first-round series, and he also handed in a near-perfect answer, so in the end, the Celtics were able to easily eliminate the Heat with a score of 4-1. In this round of the series, White fully demonstrated his ability on the offensive end, including G4 he shot 15 of 26 from the field, 8 of 15 from three-point range, 0 from the free throw line and slashed 38 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks, and G5 he shot 8 of 13 and 5 of 10 three-pointers to score 25 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal.
In the series against the Cavaliers, although White's overall performance had ups and downs, both G1 shot 9 of 16 from the field, 7 of 12 three-pointers and scored 25 points and 5 assists, and there was also a slump when G4 only scored 5 points on 1 of 6 shots, but he was not in good offensive shape that game, but he also contributed 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal.
Obviously, if the Celtics want to win the championship, they can't do without White's play, although they have basically got the ticket to the Eastern Conference finals now, but whether it is against the Knicks or the Pacers, White's pressure is still not small, especially on the defensive end, he may also face Brunson, who is in hot form in the playoffs this year, who has cut 40+ 5 times before the semifinals, and the Knicks have a total of 4 wins and 1 loss in these 5 games, so it can be said that as long as he breaks out, the Knicks are still very sure of winning. Therefore, whether White can limit him at that time is also the key to whether the Green Army can advance.
Although White is already so important to the Green Army, it is worth mentioning that his annual salary this season is still only 17.6 million, and judging from his form this year, he can get a big contract with an average salary of more than 25 million in the offseason, and this has to be if White is willing to renew his contract in advance, in case he wants to wait until 2025 to test the free market, it is not ruled out that there will be a team to raise the price of the Celtics.