Derrick White has taken his game to a new level for the Celtics

BOSTON -- The depth of the Boston Celtics has been put to test over the last month. But despite being without some key players, the Celtics just keep on piling up the wins.

Marcus Smart has been out since Jan. 21 with a bad ankle. No problemo. Jaylen Brown has now missed the last two-and-half games with a broken face. Not an issue. Malcolm Brogdon needed a day off on Sunday when the Celtics hosted the talented Grizzlies. No need to fret.

The Celtics have won four straight and six of their last seven. You can thank the depth that Brad Stevens has spent his tenure as Celtics president of basketball ops. building for the current roll that the team is on. While it's taken just about everyone on the roster, you can trace the success back to one player. 

And, surprisingly, that one player is not named Jayson Tatum.

Tatum has certainly had a hand in it, but Boston's winning ways haven't gone the way of the buffalo thanks in large part to the guy nicknamed  "The Buffalo." If you're unfamiliar with the wild and wacky faction of Celtics fans who love love love to give out funky nicknames, combo guard Derrick White is the aforementioned Buffalo of Boston. 

It makes sense, since White is a Colorado native and had his most successful college season at Colorado, with the Buffalo mascot adorning his jersey. And he's playing like a buffalo to boot, mimicking an often immovable bovine creature that gets his herd going.

With a bigger spotlight shining on him since Smart's injury, White has done everything the Celtics have needed him to do. He's started 10 games in place of Smart, and he's playing some of the best basketball of his career, averaging nearly 20 points per game off 50 percent shooting. He's knocking down 47 percent of his three-point attempts during the stretch. He's dished out 5.4 assists and pulled down 4.9 rebounds, and he continues to be a 6-foot-4 shot-blocking menace, averaging over one rejection per game.

White's numbers in six February contests are even more impressive. He's scoring at a 21.6 point per game clip, hitting 56 percent of his attempts. He's been Boston's leading scorer in wins over the 76ers (19 points) and the Grizzlies (23 points), the only times someone not named Tatum or Brown has led Boston's scoring barrage this season. In a blowout win over the Hornets on Friday, White scored a season-high 33 points. He's making it all go on offense too, dishing out 10 assists in each of the last two games.

White looked good when the Celtics picked him up at last year's trade deadline, and really found his comfort zone in the playoffs. But this groove he's in now has turned him into a whole other beast.

The Celtics should be missing Smart a lot more than they have. (Boston is 6-4 since Smart's injury.) They would have been forgiven for losing a game without Brown. And no one would have panicked too much if they had lost Sunday without three of their top four guards in the mix.

Again, it has been more than just one player. Tatum is still doing his thing. Al Horford is once again putting together a fountain of youth season. Sam Hauser has found his shot again, and there is now a moose on the loose (newly acquired big man Mike Muscala) in the Boston pasture.

But White's incredible production as a scorer and facilitator has the team playing an exciting and balanced brand of basketball. Eight different players scored in double digits on Sunday, with the C's racking up 28 assists on 39 made buckets.

Success can be found wherever Derrick White roams these days. Much like the buffalo staved off extinction, the Celtics have adapted and figured out a way to keep winning without their top two guards, thanks in large part to the superb play of Derrick White.

UPDATE: Derrick White has been named Eastern Conference Player of the Week.

It's his first time earning those honors.