Derrick White said the Celtics are in the ‘toughest stretch’ since he’s been on the team

By Khari A.

Thompson Derrick White sat at the podium with the hood of his black Celtics sweatshirt on his head.

He rubbed his forehead as he was asked about Bostons lack of defensive intensity in its 123-114 loss to Indiana Sunday night.

The loss concluded a rough December for the defending NBA champions.

After winning 16 of their first 19 games, the Celtics began to backslide and finished the month 7-6.

Theyve lost four of their last six games, three of them against teams that are at eighth place or lower in the conference standings.

Boston let Tyrese Haliburton (31 points, 7 assists, 11-19 shooting) slash into the paint and carve up its defense like a holiday ham.

The Pacers, whom the Celtics demolished by 37 points on Friday night, earned a taste of revenge on their way back to the Midwest.

I think this might be the toughest stretch that Ive been on since Ive been here with the Celtics.

Its just going going to bring us closer together, White said.

Youve just got to know that everybodys got their best interests in mind and just have each others back.

Its going to bring us closer.

Theres ups-and-downs in every season, so its one of those downs and weve got to figure it out together.

The Celtics traded for White in February of 2022.

They lost five out of six during mid-December in 2023, dropping contests against Golden State, the Clippers, the Pacers, and two against Orlando.

They also lost four out of five that March.

But, Whites point is still clear.

These stretches dont happen often for the Celtics.

They didnt see anything like it last year, and they have to figure out how to stop the slide.

The competition will only get tougher next week.

After a New Years Eve tilt with the struggling Raptors, the Celtics will hit the road to take on Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves.Then, theyll travel to Houston and Oklahoma City, who are both top-3 in the West right now.

The road trip concludes with a tilt against three-time MVP Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets.

Im actually really excited about it, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said of the upcoming stretch.

Its going to be fun.

Its going to be great.

Defensive issues have been at the forefront, particularly with point guards who are adept at getting into the lane.

Ja Morant dropped 32 on the Celtics in a win earlier this month.

Tyrese Maxey torched Celtics on Christmas Day, posting 32 points and 12 assists against three turnovers.

Haliburton was just the latest guard the Celtics struggled to stay in front of.

We just have to pay attention to the tendencies, No.

1, Mazzulla said.

And we have to know where we can help from No.

2 and force more kick outs and more multiple efforts there.

But, it starts at the point of attack with our individual defense and it moves to our team defense off the ball where we can help.

Playing without Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis certainly didnt help, but its not an excuse considering how Boston handled Indiana in the previous game.

I think communicating, Jaylen Brown said.

Tendencies are one thing, but its a lot different when youre out there and theyre coming at you full-speed, especially a team like Indiana.

I think weve got to be more alert and comunicative to help each other.

It seems like they got a lot of layups because we werent recognizing where we could help from.

They didnt shoot a lot of threes, so that means that they shouldnt have gotten that many layups, he added.

We could have protected the basket a little bit better and we didnt tonight.

But, I think we see it.

Recognizing where we could be better and and build from there.

Weve got a tough stretch coming.

Last week, Mazzulla said the Celtics were playing inconsistent basketball.

The trend has continued, especially on defense.

Weve just got to do a better job, Mazzulla said.

Weve got to do a better job coaching defense, weve got to do a better job in our individual defense, weve got to do a better job in our team defense.

White said he is not concerned about this Celtics group, which is just a game in front of the third-place Knicks.

Just trust the character in the locker room, White said.

I know the type of guys that are in that locker room and those are the type of guys that I want to go to war with.

So, Im confident in that.

Khari A.

Thompson Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com.

Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.

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