There was a lot of excitement surrounding Derrick White’s inclusion on Team USA’s Olympic roster in place of Boston Celtics teammate Jaylen Brown after an injured Kawhi Leonard.
But on Wednesday, the spotlight finally shifted to White’s court, making his first appearance for the United States in an exhibition game against Serbia in Abu Dhabi as part of the team’s preparations for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
And it’s hard to argue with the end result.
The U.S., led by Nikola Jokic and expected to win a medal in Paris, outplayed Serbia, 105-79. Celtics teammates Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday both started for Steve Kerr’s team, while White came off the bench in the second quarter.
While Stephen Curry was the driving force behind Wednesday’s game (he led all scorers with 24 points on six 3-pointers), the Celtics trio also had their moments. Here’s how Tatum, Holiday and White performed in Wednesday’s exhibition, which served as a preview of the U.S. team’s first group game at the Paris Olympics on July 28.
Jayson Tatum
Final stats: 21 minutes, 4 points (2-of-5, 0-of-2 3-pointers), 5 rebounds, 2 steals, +7
Tatum had his quietest offensive game so far in the exhibition games, hitting 2-of-5 shots and 0-of-2 from the 3-point line for just four points (fewest of any U.S. starter).
The Celtics star has attempted just one three-point shot in the U.S. team’s past two exhibition matches, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him take on more of an attack around the basket going forward.
Tatum also made an impact defensively, recording two of the USA’s eight steals.
Jrue Holiday
Final stats: 21 minutes, 8 points (3-of-4, 2-of-2 3-pointers), 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, +7
Holiday was the most productive Celtics player on the court Wednesday, making both of his 3-pointers and assisting on two of Curry’s 3-pointers. His no-look behind-the-back pass in the fourth quarter assisted Curry on a 3-pointer that provided one of the highlights of the game.
Holiday has been a consistent starter for the U.S. team and is likely to continue in that role when the Olympic group stage begins later this month.
Derrick White
Final stats: 9 minutes, 1 point (0 of 1, 1 of 2 free throws), 4 rebounds, 1 assist, +6
White only joined the U.S. team over the weekend and missed Monday’s exhibition game against Australia, so he looked rusty in his first game since Game 5 of the NBA Finals. But as soon as he took the field, the U.S. went on a 16-2 run to jump out to a double-digit lead.
White was 0-for-1 from the field in the 9 minutes, 17 seconds of the game and finished with just one point, but he did grab four rebounds and had one assist, finishing as a plus-6.
Team USA’s next exhibition match will be against South Sudan on Saturday, July 20 at 3pm ET in London.
