Jayson Tatum ALREADY helping Derrick White, making INSTANT impact

Summary

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Locked On Celtics – "Jayson Tatum ALREADY helping Derrick White, making INSTANT impact"

Date: March 10, 2026
Host: John Karalis (with guest Tom Westerholm)

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into Jayson Tatum's immediate impact on the Boston Celtics since returning from injury, with a special focus on how his presence is transforming Derrick White’s offensive game. Host John Karalis, joined by Tom Westerholm, brings deep analysis—mixing stats, storytelling, and locker room insight—to celebrate Tatum’s return while keeping a grounded perspective about the challenges ahead for Boston.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Tatum’s Return: The Positivity Surge

• Celtics fans & media are buzzing about Tatum’s "better-than-expected" first two games back.
• Tatum hasn’t returned at 100%, but even at "80-85%," he’s looked impressive (06:40), especially given his reliance on skill and basketball IQ rather than just athleticism (08:05).
• Quote (John Karalis, 05:12):
  “No one saw this coming... Tatum coming. This has all been like, on top of...this amazing dessert...and then they pour [a sauce] on there...and oh my God, it did make it better. That’s where we are right now.”

Tatum’s Game Shape & Skill Set

• Tom highlights that Tatum is still showing some rust but compensates with positioning, strength, and skill—particularly impressive for someone at partial capacity (08:05).
• Both hosts anticipate some up-and-downs as he continues ramping up.

2. Keeping Perspective: Chemistry Takes Time

• Jalen Brown’s recent quote reminds fans that Tatum’s reintegration, while “seamless for now,” will take time (09:43).
• Quote (John Karalis, 10:06):
  “We can celebrate Jayson Tatum being awesome...but also keep in mind...it’s not a linear thing. These two games have given us a lot to be like, ‘wow’ about, but they have also given us more to be like, ‘hey, this is going to take a little bit of time.’”

3. Early Chemistry: Jayson & Derrick White

• White’s offensive role is already shifting back towards his strengths with Tatum’s presence.
• John drops key early stats:
  • Wide open shot attempts: Up to 32% since Tatum’s return (vs. season avg. 27.4%)
  • Pull-ups: Down to 36% of Whites’s shots (season avg. 51%)
  • Catch-and-shoots: Increased to 32% (from 28%)
  • Dunks: White’s had 3 in two games, matching nearly a quarter of his season total of 13 (30:52).
• Quote (John Karalis, 30:52):
  “Tatum has just opened things up. So just the early signs...the crocuses are starting to pop through. That’s what we’re seeing in Derrick White’s game for sure.”
• Tom highlights that Tatum’s return lets White “eat his own food” instead of carrying on-ball duties that don’t suit him (33:30).

The “Shot Diet” Analogy

• John: “Derrick White’s had to eat Jason Tatum’s food. It’s just like, ‘I’m not really feeling it.’ Now Jason gets to eat his own food, Derek gets to eat his own food, and it’s like, okay, we all feel better now because we eat what we’re supposed to eat...” (33:30).

4. Tatum’s Defense: Surprisingly Elite Post-Injury

• Both hosts are impressed by Tatum’s defensive effort, which hasn’t lagged despite his recent Achilles injury.
• He’s taking on tough assignments, showing “no hesitation.”
• Tom points out that Tatum’s length and positional intelligence allow him to play “a step back” but still contest (22:57).
• Quote (John Karalis, 15:53):
  “Tatum’s defense has been unbelievably good for a guy that is still working his way back...he doesn’t seem to have any sort of hesitation...just ramping up.”

Rotation Impact

• Celtics’ playoff lineups now appear free of true defensive weak spots (17:14).
• Recognition for Sam Hauser’s improvement: “Sam Hauser is no longer a defensive hole…” (17:34).

5. Tatum’s Comeback Timing

• There’s speculation Tatum may have been ready for a while, but he waited until he felt right mentally and physically.
• Tom: “If anything is going to give you confidence going forward, it’s like that stuff has got to feel amazing. So I think he kind of nailed it, honestly.” (25:02)
• Both highlight the schedule: coming up vs. the Spurs (with Wembanyama) and OKC—perfect opportunities to test Tatum and the team’s evolving chemistry.

6. Derrick White: The “Connector” & Unsung Hero

• Tom celebrates White’s basketball IQ and adaptability—“Derrick White is a basketball genius...so fundamentally sound.”
• Discussion of Kenny Atkinson’s praise that White is a “top five player in the NBA”—and agreement that White’s skill as a connector is exactly what teams with star-power (like the Cavs) would crave (35:55).
• Quote (Tom Westerholm, 35:55): “If you are coaching James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, and Evan Mobley and you see a guy who is...a connector at that level...you might look at Derrick White and be like, I would take him over anybody.”

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Notable Quotes, Moments & Timestamps

• Faith vs. Evidence (05:11):
  John: “I don’t operate on faith. I operate on just what I see. So, you know, kind of like what Joe Mazzulla says: I don’t operate on feelings, I operate on evidence...”
• Derrick White “Connector” Segment (35:00-37:00):
  Exploration of White’s unique value—his ability to make the game easier for all.
• Jalen Brown on Wembanyama (11:01):
  Brown half-jokingly classifies himself as the best two-way “human” player, since Wemby is “not human” (11:51).

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Important Segments & Timestamps

• Tatum's Return and Impact on Team Positivity: 04:32–06:40
• Perspective on Chemistry and Patience: 09:43–11:01
• Jalen Brown’s "Best Human" Quote about Wembanyama: 11:51
• Tatum’s Defensive Impact & Celtics’ Lineup Versatility: 15:53–22:57
• Tatum’s Comeback Process & Confidence: 24:24–25:18
• Derrick White’s Statistical Improvements with Tatum: 30:52–33:30
• The “Shot Diet” & White as a Connector: 33:30–36:50

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Tone & Energy

The conversation is upbeat but insightful, balancing a celebration of recent Celtics success with pragmatic reminders that chemistry is a work in progress. There’s a strong sense of camaraderie, inside jokes, and appreciation for the “Everydayers” in the audience, maintaining the show’s welcoming and savvy basketball tone.

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Summary

Jayson Tatum’s return has re-energized the Celtics and their fanbase, immediately improving both the team’s aesthetics and results. His presence has quickly freed Derrick White to return to his natural, more efficient game, as evidenced by shifts in shot quality and profile. While the Celtics look great, Karalis and Westerholm stress the need for patience—chemistry and health aren’t built overnight, especially as they integrate All-NBA talent back into a well-oiled unit. Most encouraging of all is Tatum’s elite defense, reassuring everyone that his ramp-up is on track.

With a tough upcoming schedule (Spurs, OKC) and rising expectations, the Celtics face a crucial chemistry test, but the early results—with Tatum back—are cause for excitement and cautious optimism.

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Transcript

[John Corrales]

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[Tom Westerholm]

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[John Corrales]

Qualifying credit required now on the Locked On Celtics podcast we are already seeing some of Jason Tatum's impact on Derek White. But we're also in need of a little bit of perspective. Locked on Celtics pot. Home of the winners, baby. Hey, welcome back to the Lockdown Celtics podcast right here in the Lockdown Podcast network where it is your team every day. Your team is the Boston Celtics. And talk about the Monday through Friday plus bonus podcast where they play on weekends. They got a ton of weekend games to finish up the regular season plus bonuses throughout the week sometimes. So make sure you're subscribed to get all of this content directly to your device or you can watch it on YouTube where we have a lot of fun on the YouTube page. So thank you for being with me, being an every day or joining me for all of these shows. If you're new to the show, let me introduce myself. I'm John Corrales, beat writer covering the Celtics for Sports illustrated Celtics on SI. I've been covering the team for 20 years doing this podcast for 10. Today's show is brought to you by FanDuel. Download the FanDuel app FanDuel is giving you a way to turn your college basketball fandom into bigger potential wins with the college basketball parlay profit boost. Head to FanDuel.com right now to get started. That's FanDuel.com FanDuel play your game. Later on we'll get into Some of the early signs that Derrick White is being impacted in a positive way by Jason Tatum returning, just like we expected. But we're going to get into. We'll also get into Jason Tatum's defense as part of this kind of continued. It's like Jason Tatum 24 7. And to do all of this, to talk about all of this, we go to our guy, Tom Westerholm, everybody. Tom, I can't unmute you. You're muted.

[Tom Westerholm]

Oh, what up? I always appreciate. I always appreciate. It's always like my own Eddie Palladino coming in, you know, and from Iowa. Number.

[John Corrales]

Oh, that's it. That's. It's our little thing. Our guy, Tom Westerholm, who, you know, is making. Making fans and friends across the Celtics sphere. That's me. Just realize that my little setup here looks like I'm flying a plane.

[Tom Westerholm]

I was. I. That was on my list of things to comment on.

[John Corrales]

Yeah, Yeah. I look like I'm. I'm just, you know, about to contact the tower for clearance for landing. Headphones just big and bulky. I got the headset thing going. It's a new thing, thanks to my friends over at Shure who this. This. This is the same. This is the same headset, Mike, that Bad Bunny used in the Super Bowl. Yeah, not the same exact one. It's just a model.

[Tom Westerholm]

No, it's the same one. They said that's. That's. That's how special they sent you. The same one.

[John Corrales]

Yeah. There's a Bad Bunny. You done with this?

[Tom Westerholm]

Great Corrals.

[John Corrales]

You know, John sitting here getting the bad Bunny. Hand me downs. And he was like, okay, cool. Yeah, I'm down with that.

[Tom Westerholm]

I'm glad it's good. He's like. I'm like, I'm glad it's going to the right person.

[John Corrales]

Yeah. It's just people often just. You think of Bad Bunny and then you think of me, and that's just the natural progression, for sure. Jason Tatum. I'm just moving forward. Jason Tatum is back for two games. And, Tom, the basketball sphere, the basketball. Basketball world has exploded in Celtics positivity.

[Tom Westerholm]

Yes.

[John Corrales]

It's been wild to see everywhere I turn, because obviously everybody's doing their first podcasts for, you know, after the weekend, after two games. And Jason has looked really good. After two games, there's no doubt about it. He's just looked really good. And now all of the people. The Pistons are on a losing streak. Yeah. Just beat the Cavs. The Knicks are kind of up and down, and the Celtics are sitting there in Second with a bead potentially on that first. That. That first seed, which. Can we just like, wow.

[Tom Westerholm]

I think we can. Wow.

[John Corrales]

Yeah. Listen, I know I got people. I. Again, I. We are pro victory lap here, so I'm not going to begrudge people for taking their victory laps. People who had faith all along. I. I don't operate on faith. I operate on just what I see. So, you know, kind of like what Joe Missoula says, You know, what was his line operate on? I don't operate on feelings. I operate on evidence or whatever it was. And the.

[Tom Westerholm]

The evidence said that he doesn't operate on faith. He is a liar.

[John Corrales]

Well, no, that's. He wouldn't have said faith. He said. He said feelings. If he. If you were to say he don't operate on faith, he'd be like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

[Tom Westerholm]

Be showing you his WWJD tattoo.

[John Corrales]

Seriously. So I don't blame people for being like, oh, now you're finally coming around. Well, no one saw this coming. No one. Okay, you could be. You could have faith that they were going to be good, but no one really saw all of this coming and Tatum coming. This is. This has all been, like, on top of. It's like, you've had this amazing dessert, and then they came around like, hey, guess what? I have this sauce that you pour on top of the dessert, and it makes it even better. And you're like, this can't be true. We've been eating this dessert all this time, and it's been amazing. And they pour it on there, and you're like, oh, my God, it did make it better. That's where we are right now. Yeah.

[Tom Westerholm]

Listen, if. If you. If you have evidence, like you said, we are a pro victory lap podcast. If you have evidence that you were calling this beforehand, post your evidence. Post your. But just remember, unless you have evidence, like, that's like, if your evidence also, like, it has to also say, k is going to be great. Shireman's gonna. You know, there's. There's a lot of things that you had to get right for us to really be. I mean, take your victory lap. Either way, 100% take your victory lap. But to really. If, If. If you want to really call it a big win, there were a lot of things that you needed to get right that not a lot of people got right on this team. Yeah, I mean, it's like, it's. It's pretty amazing. I. I think your. Your analogy is pretty good with the dessert. Like, just this adding Tatum on top of everything. And, you know, it's funny. I think that we've seen a lot of people really like, whoa, Tatum's like, Tatum's fully healthy. He's ready to go, and he's not, but you can tell there is rust. He is slower, and it's. It's just really fascinating to watch how skilled he is, how good he is at basketball, to where, you know, before, it's always interesting because we talked before he came back about what would 80% Jason Tatum look like? And, you know, you just don't know until you see it. And, you know, okay, we're probably going to be getting some kind of 80 to 85% Jason Tatum, but you don't exactly know what that entails. And then to actually see it in action is so fascinating to see him. Yeah, I mean, he. So much of his game is actually just based on basketball IQ and skill. Right. I mean, he. Athleticism certainly helps, but, you know, he's in the right position for rebounds constantly. And that. That's not. That's not him going out there and exploding over the top of everybody. That's just him being in the right spot and just being strong. Yeah, got it. I got this one. You know, it's. He's able to rumble to the rim sometimes, even though he's not super speedy right now, because you know what? He's real strong, and if he can get that shoulder into you like you're cooked. Like, he's gonna get to the rim and he's gonna force a collapse or he's gonna get a bucket at the rim. Like, we're seeing a little bit of that stuff. If he gets an open three in crunch time, and you know, he's gonna knock it down because he's a great shooter, especially if he's open. It's. It. It's been really interesting to just see what the 80% is that the Celtics are going to get. And I think, to me, the most interesting thing going forward now is like, okay, how do you, like, kind of smooth that all out, fit that in with all the really good stuff with. With the great dessert that the Celtics have had. Okay, like, how. How does this fill in the cracks and. And how does it add a layer on top? And I think all of that stuff is going to be, to me, the most interesting thing about the next month. And it's. I'm. I don't know, man. I'm. It's energizing, right? It's like, I'm excited to. You're so rarely Excited to see games in April with the Celtics. Now it's like, yeah, this is going to be entertaining.

[John Corrales]

And the perspective here comes from Jalen Brown who said, you know, it is going to take some time. The next two opponents will give us some more information, but I think everyone's just gonna have a patience that is going to take some time to build chemistry, to build the flow. It seems seamless for now, but that's usually not how things go. So in that quote which I'm reading from Mass Live and our good friend Brian Robb, there's a lot in that quote which the. The end is what we're saying. This is not how it usually goes. And there, there is this, like, we have to keep a little bit of a dose of reality. And I'll people. I think this is where people get. Get mad at me because I'm always the one that comes in is like, okay, a little bit of reality here and people like, no, I just want to celebrate Jason Tatum being awesome. It's. Those can be two independent things. We can celebrate Jason Tatum being awesome. You should, because he's been awesome. But also keep in mind that this, it's not a linear thing. He's been. These two games have given us a lot to be like, wow about, but they have also given us more to be like, hey, this, this is going to take a little bit of time.

[Tom Westerholm]

Yeah.

[John Corrales]

You know, the, the offense in the Cleveland game was still a little too much. Okay. Jason owned the first quarter. Jalen had the third quarter and oh, hey, if that's how it goes, that's how it goes. Kind of how the offense has gone a lot anyway. But you still want to see more flow. Well, you saw more flow against Dallas. Dallas isn't as good. So, you know, the, the San Antonio game is actually going to be telling in a way because you got Victor Wembanyama, as Jalen has said that that dude's an alien. Like, he's not like how people missed the Jalen live stream where he said. Basically said if. I know I said I'm the best two way player, but Victor Wembanyama's not human. So I'm the best human two way.

[Tom Westerholm]

So it doesn't count. That one doesn't count.

[John Corrales]

Yeah, Wendy. Doesn't count because he's not human. Yeah.

[Tom Westerholm]

Which is crazy. It is crazy that like a guy as young as Wemby is already getting that kind of treatment from a. A vet, like a star veteran who I. I don't think that Jalen is the most effusive. About other team, like, about stars on other teams. He. He will talk some trash, and he doesn't always respect players on other teams. And he's just like. I mean, listen, like that. Wemby aside. Yeah, dang.

[John Corrales]

It's true. Okay, that's true. Wemby. I like the breakdown that happened recently where Wemby's, like, lying in wait. Like, he's. He's taken to pretending that he's. Oh, yeah, I'm just gonna go over here. I'm not really watching you.

[Tom Westerholm]

Psych.

[John Corrales]

Boom. Block. You know, like, oh, man, you can't. You can't go anywhere near that guy. So anyway, Tatum. Tatum is gonna have a. You know, he's gonna have to play against that, and I'm excited to see what does that mean? And that. That will provide more information and how they're playing with his minutes and. And all of that. And he's frustrated by the minutes restriction. So there is. There is still a lot of progress that needs to be made. It's just amazing that he's here with a lot of progress that's still to be made. That's. That's what you can celebrate. You can celebrate that. Oh, my God. He's here. And even if he takes a step back because of whatever, that's okay, because we've seen the. The. The best of him already in this first step of this. The next phase of his rehab. If he has a rough game, let's just say maybe he has an awesome game, maybe it's a rough game, but let's just say he has a rough game against San Antonio. It doesn't matter. It's not like, oh, God, oh, geez. I don't know if Tatum's ready. No, he's very clearly ready. It's just, ah, okay. Tough matchup, tough. Whatever. Something that he's going to work towards. It's more of a goal than anything else. So that. That's the. That's the bit of perspective. It's not raining on anybody's parade. It's just. There is a lot for him to work on. But, Tom, the defense. The defense. It might be the most surprising part of all of this. We'll get to that when we come back. Today's show is brought to you by. Game time. There's nothing like being in an NBA arena. I know because I'm in a lot of them in the crowd. The energy, the moment. Getting tickets, though, not so easy. But I'm telling you, I've used game time before. It's an easy go to app for scoring tickets fast without the hassle. It puts the advantage back in your hands. When you open up the Game Time app, you're going to see the price. That's the price you pay. No surprise fees at checkout. You're going to see the view from your seat is if you're going to a new arena, maybe you're on the road, maybe you want to go check them out. Maybe you're new to Boston or you're flying into Boston. You haven't seen what a TD Garden is or what the what the corresponding section numbers are. They'll show you the view from your seat. And if you want to pick the section, there's zone deals. Game Time picks the seats in the section you choose and you save money that way. It's a very easy app to use, so take the guesswork out of buying NBA tickets with Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account. Use the code locked on for $20 off your first purchase. That's L, O C K E D locked on for $20 off. Download the GameTime app today and remember if you're using the web, it's gametime co gametime co this is Wes Goldberg

[Tom Westerholm]

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[John Corrales]

Thanks for making Lockdown Celtics your first listen every day. We'd love to have you joining the Everydayer Club. The Everydayer Club is five bucks a month or fifty bucks for the year. You get AD free audio so you didn't hear what I just said for the last minute or so. You get that for five bucks a month or 50 bucks for the year. You get access to the group chat on Discord and if you're signed up before the NCAA tournament tips off, you get into the Everyday Club bracket pool on Discord for a chance to win Lockdown merch. So it should be a lot of fun. Use the code March to get your first month free. Head over to lockdown celtics.supercast.com use the code MARCH for the first month, three free and we'll drop the link in the show notes. So Jason Tatum's defense has been unbelievably good for a guy that is still working his way back. You see him picking up obviously tough, tough matchups. He's, he's moving his feet well, he's shifting his feet well. He doesn't seem to have any sort of hesitation. The, I don't think when I watch him, especially when I watch him play defense, Tom, I don't think he's thinking about the Achilles and if he is, he's hiding it really well. I don't see him worried about it, avoiding it. I see him just going out there and playing and just ramping up.

[Tom Westerholm]

I think it really does speak to the level of the, the ramp up games and stuff that he was playing, right? I think it's very clear that he played some, he had some good run, you know, he moved well, he felt, he got himself confident. I mean, look, you know, you've been saying this for a while, right? Like that when a doctor say it's time for him to come back, he should just come back. Like there's no reason to shelve him. There's no reason to leave him on the bench. And I think that's the clearest thing in all of this, right, is that the doctors cleared him. He was ready and he was ready to, you know, and you can see that, like you say, every time he picked up, you know, he's picking up James Harden, right? He's, he's staying, he's staying with James Harden and contesting James Harden, like, I mean, even in, even, even against the Mavericks, right, He's, he's getting out, he's, he's contesting three pointers. I, I mean, I think to me the, the, it was really interesting defensively. I thought in the first stint that he was out there against the Mavericks. You could see again, again we called this, right? He was, we knew he was going to be gassed that first stint. Yeah, before that first, you know, that first time out, all that he did look gassed in that, in that first, that first Maverick stint. And I thought that, you know, you could kind of see that on the defensive end. And they hit him a little bit, right? They kind of stuck him in the corner and said, all right, why don't you go guard, go guard somebody in the corner. And he, he did it first. But now, I mean, yeah, I, I think it really does. His defense, I think really does put the Celtics in such an interesting place when you look ahead to the postseason. Right. Because they are back to having a lineup that doesn't really have any defensive holes. Sam Houser is no longer a defensive hole. For a while there, I was. I think I may have been the last Sam Houser defense believer. Like, I just didn't think that he was a very good defender. And I, I didn't think that it was always his fault. I thought that sometimes guys made tough shots over him. But this year he's improved a lot. And I just, I don't think the Celtics have a lot of defensive. There's not really anywhere you can just go attack, especially with Tatum in there. And I mean, you know, Shireman, to his credit, was no slouch either. But, you know, you put Tatum in there and I mean, you know, shout out to Baylor. Shireman, he's been awesome this year, but Jason Tatum is an awesome, awesome defender at his best. And even at his 85%, he is. He's really good. He moves his feet. He's super, super, super smart. He knows the Celtics rotations like, like the back of his hand. Right. I mean, he's, he's been a part of it for so long, and he's, he's watched it all year. Like, he's super sharp, and I think that really shows he's, he's really good

[John Corrales]

at using his body to his advantage.

[Tom Westerholm]

Yeah, I think.

[John Corrales]

Yeah. And, and he's, he has this. He gets, he gets low, he gets those arms, and he's got a super wide wingspan and he just gets those arms out there and he, he makes you. Like, you, you don't see a lane. You can't just blow past him. Right? If you, if you're going up against a lesser defender and you, you know, you got the hands down low like this way, you can't. A ball handler can just take that first step, set you up and go and feel confident that I'm just going to duck my shoulder. And then as you open back up, if you just get past that guy and you open back up, you get that, that guy on your back on your shoulder, and you get past him. And now any kind of reach in, you can rise on up and you get a foul, a shooting foul. It's the, you know, a Shay Gildous Alexander, Austin Reeves kind of like move. Yeah, the heart. Yeah, the, you know, the, the. The true foul merchants, you know, free throw merchants, like, but, hey, that's. That's part of it, right? They. They put you in a bad position. You're like, oh, crap. And then they're like, ah, gotcha. Boom. And there's nothing you can do about it. Tatum kind of takes that away and. And he doesn't need to be. He doesn't need to be like, Marcus smart, right? He doesn't need to be just constantly, like, at top speed, he can use the angles and his size and length to do enough. Defensively, he's not locking you up necessarily. He's just making you work and making things tough on you. And because he's got the length in the long wingspan, you're not shooting over him necessarily. It's tough. You got to fade away and, you know, unless you're Kevin Durant, but that's about it. Tatum just makes it tough. He's a real excellent piece of a defense. Right. I think that's why he's a good defender. The positioning again, the footwork has been really good for a guy that's coming off of this injury. And it does make me wonder exactly when he was cleared. Just as a side note. Yeah. Like, I don't think he woke up this week and the doctors were like, I think you're ready. I. I think the doctors were like, for a while. I feel like it's been a while where their doctors, like, yeah, man, full go. And. And whenever you decide you want to play NBA basketball, it's up to you. Because I think that's the only way that. To explain what we're seeing from him defensively and seeing from him all this, because he's. He's doing a lot of the things that he's always done. Maybe he's a little slower, maybe he's. But that's. He's still doing those things.

[Tom Westerholm]

And honestly, I think crucially, too, right, because of his length and because of his body and because of just how tall he is and all that stuff, he can play a step back from a guy and still get out and contest. Right. And I think that matters a lot at this stage when he's still kind of shaking the rust off and getting back into shape, because it's like, you know, you don't have to be up in a guy's grill. You don't have to be, like, right there. You can, you know, almost play, like, you know, quasi drop coverage on a guy and still get out and contest. Is three, and you're going to be okay. Right? I think that's really nice. I mean, I think that's. That's really important, too, when you get into, like, the third and, you know, Late in the third quarter, fourth quarter, you get a little gassed. You've been out there for a while. If you can take a step back and then still get out and contest and still do what you need to do, and you're still a good defender, I mean, I think that really helps, too. But, yeah, I think to your point, does feel like, I mean, the thing. The thing has always been, right, Jason Tatum is going to come back when Jason Tatum feels comfortable coming back, and that is when he should come back. But I think medically you might be right, that there was a. Like, there may have been doctors along the way who gave him a clearance and then said, you are clear whenever you feel ready.

[John Corrales]

Yeah.

[Tom Westerholm]

Because we feel good about it. So, right.

[John Corrales]

So right. Whenever you can look at all the scans and everything, like, yeah, man, this is it. Everything's sealed.

[Tom Westerholm]

Yeah.

[John Corrales]

It's new. Everything's good. Just. It's up to you now. It's all in your head. And it. Yeah. So.

[Tom Westerholm]

Which is funny, too, because there was. There was some chatter about like, you should get out there quicker to, To. To get that out of your head a little bit. And I, I don't know, man. I think Tatum coming back now feels like this. It kind of feels like he nailed it because he's ready. And I mean, what an amazing feeling that must be to just be like, to get out there. You know, your first stint, you're a little rusty, and then you get a dunk, and then you get a step back three. Where importantly, you tested the Achilles that you were worried about with the step back. Right. And then you play good defense in the second half and you, you know, your second game out, you're not super efficient, but you scored 20 points.

[John Corrales]

Yeah.

[Tom Westerholm]

You just came out in your second game back from an Achilles injury. You played 27 minutes and you racked up 20 points. Like, if anything is going to give you confidence going forward, it's like that stuff has got to feel amazing. So I think he kind of nailed it, honestly.

[John Corrales]

That's an interesting thing to explore. That's a. That we're going to talk about Derek White's. The impact he's having on Derrick White, but the nailing his comeback is an interesting topic to continue to explore at some point here. But let's talk about Derek White when we come back. All right, Today's show is brought to you by TurboTax. It is tax season, and we're. We're coming down the stretch, and the old way of doing taxes is. We know it's a lot. Trying to book an appointment that's not the most convenient thing. Sitting in a waiting room with a stack of papers that stinks me. Emailing back and forth and wondering if they really get your situation. Very annoying. But this year you're getting a major upgrade. Intuit TurboTax now has in person locations nationwide. You can meet face to face with a real tax expert and your documents get uploaded straight to your TurboTax app on the spot. Just like that, you're done. 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Matt Moore is on the afternoon show locked on Daily Locked NBA Daily, They've got the whole league covered. They had a nice conversation about Jason Tatum. So check that out as well. So Tom, I, I just did a little bit of statistical digging. I didn't want to go too crazy because a two game sample at 27 minutes per game is not like hard just yeah, set stats. We all know this. But the way I compared it, the way the comparison I made on, on Celtics on SI was you've got like, it's like somebody when they're sick and you have 101 fever and you're waiting to see, okay, is the Fever down to 100 or 99 or have you stopped coughing a little bit. When I look at Derek White's shot profile, his offense this year where it's been a little bit of a struggle offensively for him, I'm looking for the signs that things might be changing because one thing that we've been waiting for is how is Jason Tatum going to benefit some of these guys. Derrick White's like at the top of the list because he's, he's gone to so much on ball stuff that it takes away from all of the off ball stuff that he was so good at in the past few years. So a couple of statistics just to throw out at you and then you can react. All year long White has been getting open shots. The closest defender four to six feet away almost basically 40% of the time. And the wide open shots at 27.4. Now the last two games the wide open shots have jumped to 32. The open shots have dipped slightly. Dipped slightly. The difference is basically those open shots like 4% of those open shots have now become wide open shots. So he's getting better looks. The pull ups. This season, 51% of his shots have been pull ups. Now with Tatum back, 36% are pull ups, 32% are catch and shoot. Whereas for the season 28% have been catch and shoot. So basically again, super small sample size but your pull up jump shots, a few more catch and shoots. So I'm thinking like we're getting the first data points of ah, the shot profile. The shot diet is getting back to the Derrick White that we know. And Tatum certainly has an impact on that because he's already assisted on, on. I think three of the 10 makes that, that he, that that Derrick White has made has in the past two games including that one dunk that we saw against Cleveland where this, everything opened up.

[Tom Westerholm]

Yeah.

[John Corrales]

And it's just like that's it. The, oh the la. The other Stat that I said 13 dunks this season, three in the last two games. And, like, Tatum has just opened things up. So just the early signs, like, the little, you know, it's getting warm out. You're seeing the little pokes through of the little plants, the crocuses are starting to pop through. That's what we're seeing in, In. In Derrick White's game for sure.

[Tom Westerholm]

And I think it's important. Well, I think the other thing, too, right, is that, like, Tatum, those shots that Derrick White was taking, where they just, they didn't look like him. They just didn't look like shots that he was comfortable with. And, you know, that we wondered, like, hey, I wonder if Derrick White can expand his game to this. And when you watch it, you're just like, ah, it's just. It's not, it's not quite there. It doesn't. Doesn't quite feel right. Those are shots that Tatum loves. Like, Tatum is happy to take those shots. I, I also think. I, I think that it's important that the Celtics don't lean too hard into that. Into. Okay, all right. Tatum's back. You know, everything's good. We can like Tatum. All right. You take all, all that. Roll back. You take all that, you know, all those, like, creation opportunities, all that stuff that, that you. I do think. I think it's important that the Celtics keep. I liked what they did when, you know, putting, like, Tatum, Pritchard, White in there, where you've got other guys who can create. Because I think asking Tatum to do all the things that Tatum used to do is still probably a lot to ask of a guy who just came back, right? So I, I like that. But the thing that I like about the impact on White is it's like he can pick and choose a little bit more. Now, to your point, Tatum is a great passer, so even if, Even if he's not creating shots for himself, he'll create shots for everybody else, right? Running, picking rolls. That's great. Derek White's unbelievably smart. Yeah, cut, roll, whatever. Like, you're just. You're gonna find the right spot. Derek White is just. He's a basketball genius. You know, he just, he, he finds the right thing to do so often. Listen, he's a top five player in the NBA if you ask Any action, so. But yeah, I mean, I, I, I, I love. I, I really like the White, Tatum, Pritchard. You know, you want to talk about a small sample size? I, the two games in. I really like this three Man. Lineup. But I love it for the creation. I love it for the. The options that it gives them and for the way that it can kind of ease Tatum back into the kind of game that he loves to play and that he's. That he's so good at. Yeah, give.

[John Corrales]

Give.

[Tom Westerholm]

Gives him a chance to, you know, gives him a chance to get back to it in a way that's comfortable with other options out there in case it doesn't work for him.

[John Corrales]

I like the way you put it where you're like, the shots that. That Derrick White has had to take but kind of struggled with are. That's the exact diet that Jason. And it really is. You think about it like a diet, you know, it's. It's. If you've ever had to eat something you don't like or it just doesn't work for you, you know, or. Or, like, think of. Think of them as almost like different animals, where one just thrives on this particular food and this one thrives in the other kind of food. But Derek White's had to eat Jason Tatum's food. It's just like, I'm not really feeling it now. Jason gets to eat his own food. Derek gets to eat his own food, and it's like, okay, we all feel better now because we eat what we're supposed to eat, and that's it. So I, like, this is why it was so easy. I'm not the only person. We're not the only people to sit there and say, Derek White's going to benefit a lot. Like, a lot of people had that take because we saw the efficiency struggles that White has had all year long. And now you say, oh, Tatum's going to take so much of that away from him that he gets to do the things that he's so good at. Like you said, he's so smart. You know, listen, Kenny Atkinson is obviously like, there are other. There's another. There's a different top five player. But I've been so on the. You know, Derrick White is the best basketball player on the Celtics. You know, that. That kind of weird take of. I just love the way he plays the game of basketball where it's not being like Tatum, where he's. He does all this stuff and. And, oh, my God, he's like 6:11. And that helps him. He's not like a generational athlete like Jalen Brown is, where he can just kind of sometimes just jump in the air, make decisions. Derek is just so fundamentally sound. I. I do see him as just a pure Pure basketball player. And that's why I've always loved his game so much, and that's why I had such a high opinion of him coming into the season. I thought he was going to be an all star, potential All Star this season, because I just trust him to be. To be just good at everything.

[Tom Westerholm]

Yeah, I agree. And I think that, like, I mean, I think, you know, Kenny Atkinson is being a little hyperbolic. Right. Like, it.

[John Corrales]

Right.

[Tom Westerholm]

Top five, I got. Okay, okay. But. But I also think that if you are coaching James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, and Evan Mobley, and you see a guy who is to Joe Missoula's point post game, right. A connector at that level, and you. You have all these just disparate parts that are super talented, but just kind of like, I don't know, they're kind of clunking off each other. Sometimes you might look at Derek White and be like, I would. I would take him over anybody. I want him more than I want Jokic. I don't care. Give me Derek White. Like, I would understand that if you've got parts that just kind of clunk off each other, like, Derek White can make it work, man. Like, that's. That's what makes him so special.

[John Corrales]

It is. It is. I do wonder if there's a little bit of that message being sent to his team of like, hey, you know what? I'm gonna say? Derek White's the top five player, and you guys gotta listen to me say that and be like, what?

[Tom Westerholm]

Well, I also think it's, like, it's a funny one to do to the Celtics, where it's like, there's been all this debate about, like, you know, Tatum and Jalen and, like, oh, whose team is it? And then. Kidding. Well, I think it's Derek White's team. You like them apples?

[John Corrales]

Well, I'm just glad that Derek White can get back to being himself.

[Tom Westerholm]

Yeah.

[John Corrales]

Jason Tatum is back. So with that, I'm excited to see where this goes because he's going to be. Two great challenges, the spurs and okc. Almost, like, perfect timing.

[Tom Westerholm]

Yeah.

[John Corrales]

I kind of want to see. I want to see Tatum get hit with these. With, you know, haymakers now. Like, all right, let's. Let's see.

[Tom Westerholm]

It's almost. It's almost like Tatum picked the right time to come back.

[John Corrales]

Unbelievable how that happens, right? Unbelievable how that happens. So I'm excited to see it. I'm also excited to say, Tom, thanks, man. I appreciate you.

[Tom Westerholm]

Appreciate you, man.

[John Corrales]

I do appreciate all of you, too, as well. Listening, watching on the YouTube page. Thank you so much for being here for making this show your first listen every day the number one Celtics podcast on the planet. And it's on the number one sports podcast network on the planet. It's all because of you being here listening every day. Bonus podcasts on the weekends during the week as well. So thank you for listening. Thank you for watching. Would love it now if you shared the podcast and told everybody they should be listening to and watching the Lockdown Celtics podcast here on the Lockdown Podcast Network. It's your team Every day packages by Expedia. You were made to occasionally take the hard route to the top of the Eiffel Tower. We were made to easily bundle your trip Expedia made to travel flight Inclusive packages are atoll protected.

[Tom Westerholm]

Hey everyone, this is Ross Jackson, one of the hosts of the Locked On Podcast Network. If your group chat's been a little quiet lately, I want to invite you to come and join ours. If you sign up for the Everydayer Club, you get access to the members only group chats for your favorite teams plus national chats for every sport. Personally, I love watching folks talk a little smack in the NFC south trash talk chat. You also get an ad free version of your favorite Locked on show and a whole lot more. You can check it out by tapping the Everydayer Club link in the show notes.