The New York Knicks took a commanding 3-1 series lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals with Jayson Tatum suffering a torn Achilles in the process. But Derrick White and the defending champion Boston Celtics proved they are not ready to roll over just yet and produced a convincing Game 5 victory to extend the series. The action will now return to New York, where the Knicks will be looking to punch their ticket to the Conference Finals for the first time since the 1999-2000 season.
While the injury to Tatum is a brutal break, it is impossible not to be impressed with the fight Boston showed in the previous game. They will be playing for their playoff lives again tonight and have to do so in front of the rowdy Madison Square Garden atmosphere.
Heading into this Game 6 matchup, the Knicks enter as 2.5-point favorites with -142 odds on the moneyline on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Celtics hold +120 odds of getting the outright victory with the game total set at 211.5 points.
With the stage set, here are my favorite Derrick White prop bets for Game 6.
Best Derrick White Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
Derrick White’s props are listed at over/under 20.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 4.5 made three-pointers and 31.5 combined points, rebounds and assists.
Derrick White Over 4.5 Made Three-Pointers (+130)
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown soak up the spotlight as the stars of this Celtics team, but Derrick White is every bit as important to their success. White has served as the connective tissue for their winning brand of basketball and is capable of filling just about any role that is asked of him. Following the injury to Tatum, White is being asked to play a more offensive-minded role. He came out firing in the previous game, connecting on four three-pointers in the first quarter and scoring 14 points in this period. The Colorado product finished with a team-high 34 points, shooting 7-for-13 from beyond the three-point arc.
While seven made three-pointers is a lot, it is not too far out of the norm for Derrick White. So far this series, he has shot 24-for-57 (42.1%) from beyond the three-point arc. He is averaging 22.6 points per game and making 4.8 three-pointers per contest. White has tallied more than 4.5 made three-pointers in three of the five games and has not been held to fewer than three made three-pointers against New York. He has attempted at least 11 three-pointers in every game, except for Game 3, where he shot 3-for-6 from beyond the arc.
While the injury to Jayson Tatum changes this Celtics team in a major way, don’t expect Boston to abandon its identity as a high-volume three-point shooting team. They have attacked this area of the floor at a greater rate than any other team in the league and broke a variety of NBA three-point records in the process. White himself attempted a career-high 9.1 three-point attempts per game this season and connected at a 38.4% rate during the regular season. In addition, White saw his usage rate jump from 19.9% with Tatum to 23.4% without him in the regular season. He is also posting a 24.7% usage rate in the playoffs, with this number seeing a 1.5% spike following the loss of Tatum. Count on him continuing to make the most of his expanded offensive role and connect with 4.5 three-pointers for the third straight game and fourth time in this series. Getting +130 odds on DraftKings is great value for this prop.
Derrick White Over 4.5 Assists (-135)
One notable takeaway from the Game 5 victory was the increase in ball movement and motion from this Celtics offense. There is no disputing the championship success they have produced, but one fair criticism of this Celtics offense is that it can become too dependent on hunting matchups. Without Tatum in the lineup, they have played a more team-friendly style with everyone getting involved.
Derrick White is directly impacted by this and will see the ball in his hands at a greater rate. He is a really solid connective passer and will continue being more responsible for generating offensive looks for others. White averaged 4.8 assists per game across the regular season, but this number has slipped to 3.7 in the playoffs. Even still, he has tallied over 4.5 assists in five of the 10 playoff games and recorded over 4.5 assists in 35 regular-season games.
Expect White to bring the ball up and be responsible for running the offense at a greater rate tonight. He was limited to two assists in each of the three previous games as he took on more of a focus as a scorer. This is uncharacteristic based on his well-rounded nature of his play. Expect some positive regression and for White to be able to leverage his recent scoring output into playmaking opportunities. Even with his recent assist totals being low, I like White to return to his playmaking norm tonight and deliver with over 4.5 assists in this must-win matchup.
