Derrick White has worked hard to become the NBA's most clutch 3-point shooter
Boston Celtics point guard Derrick White has worked hard to become the NBA's most clutch 3-point shooter. The University of Colorado alum was not a very good shot from beyond the arc when he joined the league with the San Antonio Spurs, shooting rarely and most seasons well below league average.
But White has continued to hone his long-distance shot, and has improved to become a legit threat from deep in each of his three full seasons with the Celtics to date. Now, the Parker, Colorado native strikes fear into the heart of opposing defenses when he finds himself open -- and never more so than in the final moments of the fourth quarter.
The folks behind the official "Boston Celtics" YouTube channel put together a clip for their "The Grind" show taking a closer look at that growth. Check it out below!
If you enjoy this pod, check out the "How Bout Them Celtics," "First to the Floor," "Celtics Lab," and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media network.
Listen to the "Celtics Lab" podcast on:
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi
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Detroit's fallen stadiums: What happened to Cobo Arena?
This is Part 3 of a six-part series looking back at the arenas and stadiums that housed some of Detroit's greatest teams over the past century. Come back to every day this week for more historic Detroit sports site memories. Cobo Arena stood on some of the most historic land in Detroit and only added to that history. Allegedly built on the spot where the first French settler of the city, Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, claimed the land for King Louis XIV in 1701, Cobo was constructed by the city in 1960. It was named after deceased Detroit Mayor Albert E. Cobo, who pushed for the construction of the arena as well as the convention hall attached to it. Detroit Pistons owner Fred Zollner moved his NBA franchise – newly arrived from Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1957 – from Olympia Stadium, on Grand River to the newly constructed Cobo Arena at the corner of Jefferson and Washington along the Detroit River for the beginning of the 1961-62 NBA season. The Pistons were a franchise constantly struggling to remain afloat, but Cobo wasn't the issue. In 1990, Sports Illustrated writer Jack McCallum wrote, 'There was something special about Cobo, an intimacy, a connection with the essence of the game (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, no fan of fans, once called those in Cobo the most knowledgeable in the league) and, above all, a kind of bad-dude charm.' The Pistons played at Cobo for 17 seasons – winning just two playoff series in nine tries – but they left after the 1977-78 when new owner Bill Davidson decided the team needed to move to the suburbs in order to draw crowds. Pistons games were regularly underattended at Cobo; in an arena that could seat 12,000, the highest average annual attendance was 7,492 in 1974-75, and wealthy suburbanites were wary to come downtown. So, the team moved to the gargantuan Pontiac Silverdome, already home to the NFL's Detroit Lions. Of the first game at the Silverdome, The Michigan Daily's Ernie Dunbar wrote, '[T]he crowd at last night's Piston game was predominantly white. … This is exactly what the Pistons hoped for when they announced their move-the financial support of the suburbs. The argument for not supporting the Pistons at Cobo was that Detroit is not safe at night. Well, now the more generally affluent suburbanites must feel that Pontiac is safe, as they turned out in record numbers to the tune of 13,688." Cobo couldn't beat numbers like that. When Davidson's widow, Karen, sold the team to Platinum Equity chairman Tom Gores in 2011, the team stayed in the suburbs. It was only in 2017 that Gores reached an agreement with Olympia Entertainment to bring the Pistons back downtown, but he wasn't bringing them back to Cobo. Cobo survived for as long as it did because of the versatility of the building. An arena attached to a convention center, Cobo could host any sort of event. The horseshoe shape of the arena and its acoustics made it perfect for concerts. Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix, KISS and the Rolling Stones were just some of the names that performed there over the years. The current convention center still hosts the Detroit Auto Show each year, as it has since 1965. The arena might be most well-known for being the site of the 'Whack Heard 'Round the World,' figure skater Tonya Harding's attack on rival Nancy Kerrigan at the 1994 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. The event was held next door at Joe Lous Arena, but practices were held at Cobo Arena. While leaving Cobo after practice on Jan. 6, 1994 Kerrigan was hit on the right thigh with a baton by Shane Stant, an associate of Harding. The aftermath of the attack, with Kerrigan crying, 'Why? Why? Why?' was recorded by a local television crew. Stant went through the glass of one of Cobo's doors as an exit route. Harding won the U.S. title, and a spot in the 1994 Olympics, two days later while Kerrigan watched from the press box. Eventually, Cobo became less popular as a venue as downtown added sites such as Little Caesars Arena and Ford Field. In 2015, the arena was deconstructed internally and renovated to become more convention space. Today, following the sale of sponsorship rights following a review of Cobo's tenure as mayor, and a few bank mergers, it stands as Huntington Place – a testament to Detroit's appeal to tourists, if not to championship sports teams. Contact Matthew Auchincloss at mauchincloss@ The series Come back all week for our series on Detroit's fallen stadiums: July 21: Tiger Stadium. July 22: The Palace of Auburn Hills. July 23: Cobo Arena. July 24: Joe Louis Arena. July 25: Pontiac Silverdome. July 26: Olympia Stadium. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit's fallen stadiums: Cobo Arena
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35 minutes ago
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36 minutes ago
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Cooper Flagg, Johnny Furphy's dunk and other 2025 NBA Summer League standouts
LAS VEGAS — Summer league, baby! It's the NBA's big convention, the place where you can see fans take selfies with Scott Foster, watch the 'Ricky Davis rule' in action and get a sell-out crowd for a game that would draw 100 people in Oshkosh, Wis., this December with the same players. With so much going on in Vegas, sometimes it's hard to remember that there was also basketball. So much of it, in fact, that teams rarely let their best prospects play the whole thing. (As a league, the NBA might want to talk about that.) Advertisement So, what are we supposed to take away from what happened on the court? The conventional wisdom is that everything you see in Vegas is a mirage that means virtually nothing once teams reconvene to play real basketball this fall. While elements of that statement are true, it's not entirely true. 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It's the so-called Ricky Davis rule that makes it illegal for a player to shoot at his own basket (Davis once famously banked a shot off his own rim so he could rebound it and get a triple-double), memorialized as Rule 5.1.e in the official rulebook. Literally and figuratively, the 7-foot-1 Yang was a big deal in Vegas. He was neither the best nor the worst player at summer league, but he definitely garnered the most attention as a mystery man from overseas. (The Chinese network Tencent dedicated a production crew just to broadcast his games — not something it typically does for summer league.) Yang also produced some unintentional comedy due to his total lack of familiarity with the defensive-three-seconds rule. Early in his second game, the baseline official could be heard yelling, 'Get out!' five times before finally relenting and calling the violation on Yang. That came after the league seemingly avoided enforcing the rule entirely during the first set of games for each team, producing some hilarious sequences where Yang was in the lane for much of the shot clock. Advertisement He'll figure out the rule soon enough. As far as basketball, it was a mixed bag. Yang is huge, willingly physical and has some sizzle as a passer from the top of the key; it also looks like he can make enough 3s to keep defenses honest. Despite all the social media clips, however, his overall numbers were pretty pedestrian. He disappointed on the glass and may struggle changing ends and guarding in space. His ultimate success may depend on whether he can mash in the paint well enough to dissuade opponents from covering him with smalls. Cooper Flagg, Dallas Mavericks: Forget that he made 5 of 21 in his first summer-league game; summer shooting percentages are basically worthless. Flagg passed the eye test with flying colors, roaring down the lane for giant dunks, handling the ball like a point guard despite nominally being a 6-8 power forward and showing comfort shooting pull-ups off the dribble. A nitpicker would have wanted to see more activity on the glass, but Flagg was unsurprisingly the best rookie in Vegas. VJ Edgecombe, Philadelphia 76ers: Edgecombe only played two summer games, and only one of them came in Vegas, where he made 4 of 14 against Washington. Nonetheless, Edgecombe also passed the eye test with his burst and athleticism and filled the stat sheet with 15 rebounds, eight assists, four steals and three blocks in his 60 summer-league minutes. Shooting will be a swing skill for him, but he showed he can contribute in enough ways to survive cold snaps from the perimeter. Nique Clifford, Sacramento Kings: Clifford played in all six of the Kings' summer games as they went to the final before losing, and the 24th pick of the NBA Draft was consistently productive in them all. While his 11-of-24 mark on 3s in his Vegas stint might be an outlier, Clifford stood out as a plus defender and rebounder (12.5 percent rebound rate) who also posted 25 assists in his six games. For somebody who profiles as a glue-guy role player, he looked the part. Brooks Barnhizer, Thunder: The best second-round pick in Vegas was this guy, a rugged wing from Northwestern who somehow played in eight summer-league games without being shut down. His activity stats were off the charts, with 27 'stocks' (steals + blocks) in his eight games and a 12.5 percent rebound rate despite standing 6-5. Shooting questions dogged Barnhizer his whole career and will likely determine whether he makes it, but the 44th pick in the draft showed enough to be an interesting energy guy at worst. Kon Knueppel, Charlotte Hornets: World champs! Knueppel started his summer with a 1-for-8 stinker against the Utah Jazz but built up from there, leading the Hornets to the summer crown with a 21-point effort in the title game. What stood out about Knueppel was nearly half his shots were 2s; he doesn't need to play as a perimeter specialist. He also sprinkled in 19 assists in his five games, showing nice functionality as a secondary creator. Kyle Filipowski, Utah Jazz: Though abetted somewhat by summer league's more liberal foul-out rules (he finished with eight personals in two different games, because in Vegas you get 10 before fouling out), Filipowski, who was named summer-league MVP on Monday, was probably the best second-year player I saw. He dropped a 32-6-5 line on Charlotte and 35 points and 11 rebounds on San Antonio before Utah shut him down. His launch rate from 3 (23 attempts in his final three games) is an encouraging sign that he'll lean harder into his stretch capability for the regular season. Advertisement Terrence Shannon Jr., Minnesota Timberwolves: Shannon got in three summer games before the Wolves shut him down, scoring 68 points in 88 minutes and standing out athletically. Of note is how often he launched from 3, taking 26 of his 42 attempts from beyond the arc. If Shannon can become a reliable volume 3-point shooter, it's much easier to see him filling the wing minutes vacated in Minnesota by Nickeil Alexander-Walker's departure. Ron Holland Jr., Detroit Pistons: The 7-for-15 shooting from 3 may or may not be a small-sample fluke, but the rest of his stat sheet was men-among-boys stuff. Holland poked 12 steals and garnered 26 free-throw attempts in just three games for a fun, spicy Detroit outfit. Ajay Mitchell, Thunder: OKC's second-year pro showed a lot of encouraging signs as he was usually the best player on the court during his six summer games. Mitchell created offense with ease and had high rates of rebounds and defensive events to go with a smoother-looking stroke than he showed a year ago. Nitpickers will point out a turnover rate that was still too high. Jaylon Tyson, Cleveland Cavaliers: Tyson wasn't dominant because he didn't shoot particularly well, but the second-year wing flashed some serious point forward potential by issuing 20 assists in just three games. As a secondary shot creator on the wing, he could have an opening for minutes with the departure of Ty Jerome. This is now his second straight strong summer league; perhaps he can convert that into more regular-season action on a stacked Cavs roster. Tolu Smith, Pistons: Smith is a pretty mobile defender for a big and showed enough skill as an offensive player to seem functional at the NBA level. He had a 19.5 percent rebound rate and 8 percent block rate at summer league, both among the best figures in Vegas. The Mississippi State product is on a two-way contract with Detroit after being one of the best players in the G League last season. The Pistons are well-stocked at center, but file this name away for later in the season or next year if he changes teams. He's an NBA player. Nae'Qwan Tomlin, Cavaliers: Is this anything? The Cavs' two-way was one of the best players on the floor in Vegas, finishing with a sizzling 31.2 PER highlighted by five offensive rebounds a game, tallying 15 'stocks' in 131 minutes and launching six 3s a game as a stretch four. Coming off a strong rookie season in the G League, the 24-year-old Tomlin might finally be harnessing the talent that had folks at Kansas State and Memphis so excited about his upside, especially if he can keep letting it rip from 3. Drew Timme, Brooklyn Nets: The undersized center finished last year as a roster player in Brooklyn and put up several solid games while the Nets tanked to the finish. He's still under contract on a non-guaranteed deal. Based on his summer, the Nets should figure out a way to keep him. Advertisement Timme suffered the unfortunate fate of being hit in the head by a pass from teammate Danny Wolf during his first game but recovered nicely from there, including a 30-point game against the Washington Wizards' Alex Sarr and a 24-point, 10-rebound outing against the New York Knicks. Perhaps most impressively, for a guy who had the ball in his hands a ton, Timme had just five turnovers playing 92 minutes. Curtis Jones, Denver Nuggets (signed with the Nuggets on Saturday): Jones was the best undrafted player at summer league, finishing his five-game stint with a 29.7 PER that was more than just outlier shooting percentage; he also averaged two assists for every turnover, scored at a high rate and posted an 11.3 percent rebound rate as a 6-3 guard. The Nuggets have had a pretty successful player development program over the past few years and could use help in the backcourt; I'm interested to see if they can turn him into something rotationally useful by season's end. P.J. Hall, Hornets (signed with the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday): Hall was the best performer on Charlotte's title-winning team but couldn't play in the final because the Grizzlies scooped him up on a two-way deal. He played in Denver last year on a two-way, but the Nuggets opted not to bring him back. While undersized for the center position and perhaps not skilled enough for power forward, Hall put up big-guy stats in Vegas that stood out. He had the second-highest block rate and fifth-highest rebound rate of any player this summer. Given that he also had a strong G League season last year, Hall should help Memphis. Daniss Jenkins, Pistons: Jenkins played on a two-way with Detroit last year and has a qualifying offer to return. He showed why the Pistons should want him back with a strong summer campaign highlighted by his harassing full-court defense, most notably in a matchup against Houston's 2024 lottery pick Reed Sheppard. The other part that stood out was 27 assists against eight turnovers. For a guy trying to stick as a third point guard, that's the type of ratio that could get him into a roster contract. Antonio Reeves, New Orleans Pelicans: Reeves was waived from his guaranteed contract by New Orleans for reasons that aren't entirely clear, but he was still on their summer roster. As only can happen with the Pelicans, he was also clearly their best player, posting a 23.0 PER in five games despite struggling in his usual specialty of 3-point shooting. Reeves made only 5 of 16 from 3 but was efficient everywhere else. He had only three turnovers for the summer and shot 17 of 17 from the line. Reeves, 24, has athletic limitations, but he also shot 39.5 percent from 3 in his rookie season and didn't look overmatched in his minutes. He's still two-way eligible, and I'm very interested to see where he lands. Jordan Miller, LA Clippers: Another one in the awkward 'unceremoniously waived but still on the summer team' category, Miller is probably too good for a two-way but could end up back on one to start the season in Los Angeles. As a third-year player, he's supposed to kick everyone's butt at summer league, and that he did, to the tune of a 25.2 PER, a 13.1 percent rebound rate and a mammoth free-throw rate. Call him Vegas DeRozan; over the last two summer leagues, he's earned 80 trips to the line in just 10 games. (Illustration: Will Tullos / The Athletic; photos: Garrett Ellwood, Ryan Stetz / Getty Images)
