What’s Celtics guard Derrick White done “procrastinating” about?
Boston Celtics guard Derrick White went toothless on the Philadelphia 76ers Thursday. White left momentarily with an elbow to the face. He placed his right hand over his mouth momentarily at TD Garden Center during the Celtics’ 123-105 romp.
Turns out he had a tooth that went missing. He’s through procrastinating about his dentures, per Jay King of The Athletic.
“Derrick White said his teeth were temporary. He was supposed to go in a couple of weeks ago to get permanent ones but he kept pushing it back. He’s done procrastinating after tonight,” King shared on X.
White is fixing his teeth tomorrow, he told King.
Was Derrick White still valuable for Celtics vs. 76ers despite lost teeth?
White still managed to squeeze in 24 total minutes of action. He ended the night joining four other Celtic players on the double-digit scoring side.
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White finished with 12 points — tying Torrey Craig for the same amount. The 30-year-old veteran became more of a force on the passing end. The native of Parker, Colorado dished out six assists to tie for the team lead. Payton Pritchard also produced the same number of assists. Pritchard scored the most points compared to White, dropping 19. Jayson Tatum led the way once again by delivering a 35-point outburst on the 76ers.
White missed a driving layup before losing his tooth. Baylor Scheierman entered in his place at the 7:13 mark of the second. White checked back into the game at the start of the third quarter. He misfired on his first three shot attempts before hitting a 12-foot driving floating jump shot at the 5:33 mark. That became his lone second half basket.
The former Colorado Buffaloes star entered the game fresh off his scoring outburst on the Portland Trail Blazers. White hit career-best 41 points in the 128-118 win. Despite losing his teeth, the Celtics won their third consecutive game.
They’re still in the driver’s seat for the Eastern Conference’s second seed. But they still trail the Cleveland Cavaliers by seven games for the top seed. The Celtics improved to 45-18 overall with 19 regular season games left.
Boston now gets a huge Saturday night showdown with the Los Angeles Lakers. White could have his new teeth by then. Or play with a special mouth guard.
