The Celtics are giving one of their starters a night off Friday in Brooklyn.
Boston ruled out starting guard Derrick White for its matchup with the Nets at the Barclays Center for rest purposes. It’s the first time the Celtics have used that designation — rest — on their injury report this season.
The game is the first of a road back-to-back, with Boston set to visit the Chicago Bulls on Saturday.
White played in 42 of Boston’s first 43 games (all starts), averaging 17.6 points, 5.4 assists, 4.6 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.5 blocks per appearance. The ninth-year pro is on pace for career highs in all of those categories despite struggling as a shooter for much of this season.
White’s field-goal percentage (39.1%), effective field-goal percentage (48.6%) and true shooting percentage (52.6%) all would be the worst of his career. His 32.3% shooting from 3-point range would be second-worst.
The month of January has been especially rough for White. Since the start of the new year, he’s shooting 36.9% overall and 24.7% from deep. He scored eight, seven, four and 13 points in his last four games.
“He’s not defined by shooting efficiency,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said after Wednesday’s [119-104 win over the Indiana Pacers](https://www.bostonherald.com/2026/01/21/jaylen-brown-sam-hauser-lead-way-as-celtics-breeze-past-pacers/). “To me, that’s a bonus, and that’s obviously something that makes us different. But at the end of the day, (it’s) his pick-and-roll passing … his defensive versatility, his ability to sprint and get back tips, which has helped us get back into games at times. I think it’s hard to recognize all the other stuff, and it’s just easy to notice the shooting inefficiencies, because it’s right there.”
An All-Defensive Team selection in two of the last three seasons, White has been one of the league’s top playmakers at that end. He’s one of just two players, along with Toronto’s Scottie Barnes, with 50-plus steals and 60-plus blocks this season, ranking eighth in the NBA in the latter.
Celtics teammate Jaylen Brown and Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle both said White [should be an NBA All-Star](https://www.bostonherald.com/2026/01/22/celtics-derrick-white-should-be-nba-all-star-opposing-coach-says/) despite his subpar shooting numbers.
“Regardless of what the stats look like,” Brown said, “Derrick White is an All-Star.”
The Celtics also ruled out reserve wing Josh Minott, who will miss his ninth consecutive game with an ankle sprain. Jayson Tatum remains sidelined as he works his way back from offseason Achilles surgery.
The 12-30 Nets have lost 11 of their last 13, including a 120-66 bludgeoning against the New York Knicks on Wednesday. Brooklyn has beaten Boston once this season, however, winning 113-105 at TD Garden on Nov. 21.