Picks 'n Pops: Derrick White the copycat, the moon and the sun, and horses

Every week I gather some thoughts about the Celtics, the NBA, and beyond and dump them here. Because people are just clamoring for Celtics thoughts at the same time as Patriots camp and the MLB trade deadline.

- Since he’s come to Boston, Derrick White has shaved his head and started a podcast. I didn’t realize I was that much of an inspiration to him. 

- White revealed that upon hearing about his trade, he wondered aloud about not being wanted and then got drunk while playing games with his teammates, which is exactly how I reacted to breakups in college. Maybe White and I are cousins or something. 

- Joe Mazzulla was at Patriots practice this week. There's no truth to the rumor that he just wanted to run crossing routes and get hit by linebackers just to see how it feels. 

Alternate joke: There's no truth to the rumor that he tried to get Drake Maye to throw nothing but long bombs while he was there.

- I wish JD Davison the best, but four two-way contracts in four years is not what I’d call a great sign for his NBA future. 

- Rumor has it that Al Horford’s deal with the Warriors could be two years, $10 million, which might further explain why he’s not coming back. I don’t think the Celtics were matching that offer in their current financial situation. 

- It’s been a bad couple of legal weeks for current and former NBA players. 

• Marcus Morris spent two days in jail because he owed a quarter million dollars in Las Vegas casino gambling debts. He paid the money back and was released, but the big lesson is don’t mess with a casino’s money. I didn’t realize they had that kind of power to get people arrested. 
• Terry Rozier remains under investigation for manipulating prop bets. Unusual betting activity came in on Rozier unders in a game he left with foot pain. This seems to be the trick some players think they can get away with. They leave a game early, an associate places a big bet on the under, and the bet pays off. 
• The explosion of sports betting makes this easier to attempt, but also easier to spot. An associate of Player X, can go almost anywhere and try to spread a bunch of bets out on Player X’s unders knowing that he’ll leave early with some kind of made up injury. 
• At the same time, all of these entities know how much money comes in on player props. They have a very long baseline of how much money comes in, so when a lot more suddenly shows up, they can flag it, and the scheme can get busted. 
• Gilbert Arenas was arrested for running an illegal, high-stakes poker game out of his mansion. I have no added comment here other than Arenas sucks. He’s been a jackass this whole career and it’s gotten worse now that he’s trying to join the “I’ll say anything for money” club. Anything that makes him go away is welcome. 

- The Celtics start the post-free agency portion of the year 12th on NBA.com’s power rankings. I don’t ever make much about power rankings but the Celtics in the middle of the pack next season makes perfect sense. 

- Jayson Tatum was at Chris Paul’s elite camp in Las Vegas recently. Heavy.com spoke to a scout who was there. 

“I’m no doctor, but I’ve seen guys coming back from Achilles’ tears, and he looked way ahead. I was kind of shocked to see how well he was moving. I have no idea for what any of this means for when he can come back. I’m sure him and the Celtics’ medical people have their program set up, and they’ll make sure that he’s where he needs to be when he does get back. But he looks great right now. Of course, he didn’t do any running or even jogging, but he was in great shape and he had no trouble doing his part at the camp.”

As a card-carrying member of the “Tatum could play this season” club, I’m just going to accept this as more evidence in my favor. 

Reminder: Tatum coming back this season would not constitute “rushing” back. What I’m saying is that he’ll complete every rehab step, every ramp-up step, and anything else any doctor, trainer, coach, and executive might have to say and be 100% ready to play with games remaining on Boston’s 2025-26 schedule.

- Jaylen Brown was recently on the “School of Hard Knocks” Instagram channel answering some rapid-fire questions. 

1: I’m a fan of his line “The moon steals light from the sun, but people never get the two confused.” It’s inspirational. That feels like a line of script someone has tattooed on a forearm. 

2: His talk about dealing with anxiety and depression is important, especially for men. We’re all told to be a certain way, and that often means ignoring emotions. But emotions always come out. If they're suppressed, they’ll find a different way out, like overindulging in food, drink, drugs, gambling, or other things. It takes strength to admit you need help sometimes. 

- Kristaps Porziņģis talked about his situation in Atlanta: 

"Atlanta's been on the edge of the playoffs the last few years, sometimes getting through the first round. It's a great situation for me to come in and contribute. Maybe even better than Boston, where it was championship or bust … Here, the pressure isn't the same -- it's easier to exceed expectations.” 

I’m assuming he means fan and media expectations. He spent a couple of years in Boston with a championship being the goal and every loss dissected as a harbinger of potential playoff doom. He never seemed to care about pressure, so I think he’s just talking up his current situation more than anything. We asked him about pressure before and he always blew that off. 

It’s like being with someone new who asks about your old girlfriend. Even if there were some things that you remember fondly, you never tell the new girl that. 

- Speaking of breakups, Luka Dončić reacted to his by getting into the best shape of his life.

Okay, that's nothing new. The Mavs basically called him a fatty boombalatty on his way out the door, so this is what we expected. 

The next step is staying in shape. I don’t care about a 20-something hitting the gym and discovering abs. That happens all the time. The key now is erasing the bad habits.

Will Dončić be motivated to stay in shape, or will he react to his newfound svelte-ness by allowing himself a treat or two because he “deserves” one now? 

Around my house, we call that “pulling a Karalis.” The other day, I did 10 pushups and rewarded myself with a piece of cake. You can’t burn the candle at both ends. You have to commit.

- LeBron James knows exactly what he’s doing releasing a picture of himself working out in front of Clippers logos. 

I think LeBron is entering the Madonna phase of his career. This is the equivalent of her kissing Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears during a performance in a bid for relevance. Sorry that Dončić has taken the throne in LA, but he's younger and, as we have established, prettier than you are now, LeBron. These stunts aren't going to have the same impact anymore.

- Nikola Jokić was happier that his horse won a big race than he was when he won the NBA championship. 

I don’t know about you, but I think that's the look of a man who’s having the Best Week Ever!

- Today’s AI-generated image: everyone just waiting around for Jonathan Kuminga news so they can finish off their offseason business.

- Here’s my latest podcast, if you’re bored.