Derrick White and Jrue Holiday provide the Celtics with a tremendous new luxury

The Boston Celtics are led by two of the best wings in the NBA. Jayson Tatum was just named to his third straight All-NBA First Team, and Jaylen Brown scored 40 points in Boston’s Game 2 win over the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Tatum and Brown have spearheaded the Eastern Conference for the better part of a decade, but this year, their supporting cast has been amplified and it starts in the backcourt.

For years, Marcus Smart’s elite defensive game helped Tatum and Brown climb toward the top of the East. His playmaking began to shine through in his final years with the Celtics, and his playoff shot-making went largely overlooked, but this year, the Celtics are getting a new level of offensive production from their backcourt.

Derrick White and Jrue Holiday have been instrumental to Boston’s postseason success, alleviating a ton of pressure off of Tatum and Brown in the process.

In Game 2 on Thursday night, they combined for 38 points, seven rebounds, and 16 assists with just one turnover. They shot 14/22 from the field and 7/12 from three-point range as a duo.

“They’re just really good basketball players,” said Joe Mazzulla.

White and Holiday were recently named to the All-Defensive Second Team, marking the second season in a row of defensive recognition for both players.

What makes the tandem so special is their ability to affect both sides of the ball. Defensively, they are one of the best backcourts in the league, but on offense, they are capable of carrying the load.

Whether it be White’s 38-point performance in Game 4 against the Miami Heat or Holiday’s 28-point night in Game 1 against the Pacers, both have chipped in with monumental contributions on offense. Combined with stellar defense, they’ve supplied the Celtics with an indescribable boost.

“Utility guys. Guys that will do anything to win,” Holiday said of himself and White. “I feel like that’s kind of what is important. It’s not necessarily getting your stats or seeing what it looks like, but doing whatever it takes to win.”

In the postseason, lineups often get cut down. Guys who played massive roles in the regular season are played off the floor because they cannot contribute on one end. Peyton Watson barely played for the Denver Nuggets because of his offense.

And in some cases, players get minutes, but they are treated differently on the floor. Boston left Cleveland’s Isaac Okoro virtually wide-open from three all series long in Round 2, and he struggled mightily.

Boston’s backcourt, and the entire roster, doesn’t have that issue. In fact, it’s the opposite. White and Holiday aren’t just passable on either end of the floor. They are exceptional.

More importantly, they are willing to be exceptional in whatever way the Celtics need them to be on any given night.

“They come into a game open-minded on how they can impact it in different ways,” Mazzulla said. “Sometimes it’s defense, sometimes it’s pick-and-roll handling, sometimes it’s screening, sometimes it’s scoring, sometimes it’s shot-making.

“They just have the ability to impact the game on both ends of the floor. Their versatility is important.”

If teams want to send pressure at Tatum or Brown, White and Holiday are ready to make shots. If Tatum and Brown are struggling to make plays with the ball in their hands, White and Holiday can act as primary playmakers. If the Celtics want to use Tatum and Brown as decoys, White and Holiday can create for themselves.

White and Holiday are wildly overqualified for the roles they are needed to play, and that’s a huge luxury for the Celtics.