Derrick White on the Celtics defense: “we take a lot of pride on that side”

Each year, NBA.com puts out a GM Survey, detailing the NBA’s thirty lead executives’ opinions on a bunch of different topics. One of the items talked about is which team has the best defense. The Celtics were voted number one at 57%. At practice Friday, Derrick White was asked about it.

“Everybody knows we take a lot of pride on that side of the ball,” White said at the Auerbach Center on Friday (via CLNS Media). “We got a lot of guys who can do a lot of different things on the defensive end… We know that if we want to get to where we want to get to, we got to be really really good on that side… it’s a lot of what we’ve been focused on.”

Defense is always a key issue with every Celtics team and with Joe Mazzulla at the helm that has been no different.

Last season, according to Cleaning the Glass, the Celtics ranked 3rd in the NBA in defensive efficiency, behind the Timberwolves and Magic.

White was also asked about the Celtics’ quirky schedule playing internationally before having a week off and then playing three times in four nights.

“I mean, it is what it is. We just gotta do what we need to do to be ready… understand the process of it all. I mean, it’s a little different but just gotta do what we gotta do.”