The New York Knicks have a Derrick White problem. A big one. And if they don’t solve it, never mind winning Game 6 against the Boston Celtics on Friday night. They will fail to make it out of the series, period.
Fortunately for the Knicks, bowing out at the mercy of a flame-throwing Derrick White doesn’t have to be their destiny. They have the ability to considerably slow him down.
Derrick White is obliterating the Knicks' defense
During the Celtics’ Game 5 victory on Wednesday night, his scoring became a monumental problem for New York’s defense. His shooting itself is a mega issue. But so, too, is his movement away from the ball. The Knicks are losing track of him, and it’s not always because of an uber-effective screen.
White isn’t venturing inside the arc much. He’s taken just eight two-pointers over the past three games. But he has made five of them (62.5), and is devastating New York’s defensive attention with his sudden cuts, which are more like surgical beelines.
Not surprisingly, given everything we all watched, the Celtics outscored the Knicks by 26 points during White’s Game 5 minutes. And New York is minus-45 points through his court time over the past three games. That has to change.
Here's how the Knicks can fix their Derrick White problem
We shouldn't pretend slowing down White will be easy. But it's possible.
It starts with putting even more length on him. Mikal Bridges has been his primary defender for the series, and he's by and large doing a good job. The Knicks are allowing the Celtics offense to score just 0.98 points per possession when Bridges is guarding White. For context, Boston is averaging 1.17 points per possession in the postseason.
The results deteriorate when White is able to go after—or shoot over—smaller defenders. The Celtics are averaging 1.11 points per possession when White gets guarded by Jalen Brunson, Deuce McBride, or Josh Hart. This isn't a terrible mark for the Knicks, but it's higher than it needs to be.
And yet, Karl-Anthony Towns is the real issue. New York is going to concede switches in this series. That has proven to be the right move. But Towns isn't always getting up enough on Boston's shooters, and White, in particular, is feasting.
Boston is averaging 1.71 points per possession when KAT registers as a defender on White. Again: The Celtics average 1.17 as a team overall. This is a disastrous result. Also, while the NBA's tracking data is imperfect, it shows that White shoots 40 percent from distance when Towns gets switched onto him. That is...not ideal.
Having KAT play up further in these coverages is the clear solve. As Knicks fans know all too well, though, he is far from a billboard for defensive consistency.
This is where turning to Mitchell Robinson comes in handy. He is the obvious x-factor on whom head coach Tom Thibodeau should lean more. He is better suited to aggressively contesting shots when moving like he has for much of this series. White will think twice before firing away from deep, and will have more of his cuts to the paint derailed.
The numbers back this up. White is shooting 58.3 percent when Robinson is off the floor, including an absurd 20-of-37 on threes (54.5 percent), and averaging a bonkers 37.1 points per 100 possessions, according to PBP Stats. But when Robinson plays, White is shooting just 4-of-20 from deep (20 percent), and sees his scoring clip plummet by more than half, to 16.5 points per 100 possessions.
Throw in some more self-aware team defense early in the shot clock, especially after making shots on offense, and the Knicks' recipe for slowing down White is clear: length, aggression, and more Mitchell Robinson. Their ability and willingness to tap into these adjustments isn't just important. It will make-or-break this series—and, by extension, New York's championship chances.
Dan Favale is a Senior NBA Contributor for FanSided and National NBA Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Bluesky (@danfavale), and subscribe to theHardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by Bleacher Report'sGrant Hughes.