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‘I want to be Derrick White’: Lakers’ D’Angelo Russell says Celtics guard is his inspiration

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Celtics

“He makes all the winning plays. That’s who I want to be.”

Derrick White blocks a D’Angelo Russell layup. Erin Clark/Globe Staff

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D’Angelo Russell is taking a more aggressive approach to the preseason. He says he doesn’t care if he looks crazy picking up ball handlers from half court or diving on the floor for loose balls.

The Lakers guard said he looks to Celtics guard Derrick White as an example of the kind of player he wants to be.

“My inspiration has been Derrick White,” Russell said. “I want to be Derrick White. He doesn’t get a lot of credit for what he does. He makes all the winning plays. That’s who I want to be.”

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla listed humility, body language, and dependability as the characteristics that would make White a good role model for other players.

“You can rely on him every single day. He understands it’s not always going to go his way, and he always has really good body language. He’s one of our intangible leaders because he brings it every single day and you can rely on him in those areas.

“That’s a great goal to have to be like someone like him,” Mazzulla continued. “I still think he’s underrated from a defensive standpoint because of how good he is. Hopefully he continues to grow offensively, so we can see a different side of him.”

While White is one of the best shot blocking guards in the NBA, defense isn’t the only part of his game that shines, Celtics guard Jrue Holiday said.

“I think it’s just him,” Holiday said. “His character, his personality. He seems kind of quiet, but when he gets on the court he really makes a lot of loud noise. I know people always talk about defensively, how he’s blocking shots at the rim and even at the three, getting steals, playing great defense.”

“But, offensively, he’s reliable,” Holiday continued. “He’s always played very solid, knocking down threes, a very reliable shooter. He’s more than reliable, he’s someone you can always go to when you need him.”

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