The Boston Celtics dropped a disappointing sport on Wednesday evening, falling to the upstart Pistons on the highway in a high-profile matchup towards the surging younger Detroit roster. It was the Celtics’ second sport in as many nights, which actually goes a long way in explaining why they seemed to be a step or two behind the younger legs of the Pistons within the second half. However whereas the schedule actually contributed to the loss, it additionally placed on show one explicit hot-button aspect that has made the Celtics really feel unstable: three-point taking pictures.
We will get the discourse out of the way in which at first. The Celtics’ free-flying methods from behind the arc have been topic to a lot dialogue, from social media as much as the NBA’s nationwide broadcasts. It’s a polarizing challenge, the topic of a miniature tradition struggle inside the sport itself. Are they taking pictures too many threes? Has basketball as an entire basically misplaced its id in how groups now depend on the three-point shot for scoring?
These discussions have felt — and proceed to really feel — overblown, and we’re not right here to reply them as we speak. What we are able to do as a substitute is talk about the information of this workforce’s taking pictures, and what the Pistons loss would possibly inform us in regards to the Boston offense.
The Celtics have deployed a staggeringly three-point-heavy shot weight loss program this season. Greater than half of their whole shot makes an attempt (53.4%) have come from behind the arc, per NBA Stats (Detroit loss not included). The three-point shot is the clear basis of this offense, to a maybe uncharted diploma in NBA historical past. At the same time as they’ve regressed considerably from the championship season, they nonetheless characteristic the league’s most devastating mixture of quantity and effectivity from vary — first in three-point makes an attempt (48.4), tenth in three-point share (36.8%).
This isn’t fully new. The championship squad additionally launched a large quantity of three-point photographs, and with all of their high eight gamers in minutes performed connecting on 37% of them or higher moreover Jaylen Brown (35.4%), they merely buried the remainder of the NBA underneath an avalanche of triples.
On Wednesday evening, per the NBC Sports activities Boston broadcast, these Celtics set a brand new workforce report for fewest made two-pointers, making simply 12. They launched up 49 threes and simply 31 twos. This made for maybe one of many stranger field scores within the league this season; one during which the Celtics made 21 threes on 43% taking pictures from vary and misplaced by 20 factors to a workforce who solely linked on 13. Detroit blitzed them within the paint, making 61% of their two-point seems to be. A visible comparability of the 2 groups’ shot charts tells a putting story.
It should be famous, although, that the second quarter gave us a glimpse of what this workforce is able to when every thing aligns. Lagging behind the Pistons after a poor end to the primary, the Celtics trailed by as many as 15 factors. When Porzingis linked on a 3 with 6:35 remaining within the half, although, it kick-started a completely absurd end to the quarter: eight threes in underneath seven minutes of play, main the Celtics to enter the halftime break in an inconceivable tie at 55 factors apiece.
When Derrick White discovered the underside of the online on this circus shot because the shot clock expired, you’d be forgiven for those who thought the Celtics’ comeback win was a foregone conclusion.
Moreover, within the grand scheme of issues, this isn’t a workforce whose latest outcomes recommend it is a large drawback. This can be a workforce that has now received 10 of their final 12 video games, they usually’ve picked up these 10 wins whether or not they’ve been on schedule of their offense or not. They’ve had their burn-down-the-nets nights, reminiscent of their post-All Star break debut the place they buried Philadelphia underneath 24 made threes, however they’ve additionally picked up wins over Cleveland, Miami, San Antonio and Toronto on nights when their taking pictures produced sub-standard outcomes. If we’re going to place a important eye on their taking pictures in a tricky loss, now we have to credit score it when it’s been a optimistic, and these Celtics have usually resembled their 2023-24 type because the finish of January.
So, what does this all imply? Maybe nothing greater than a sense. The Celtics are the reigning champs, and it’s clear that the sport they’re enjoying this 12 months is an meant one. Joe Mazzulla is a coach with conviction, prepared to sink or swim along with his gameplan, and he’s earned the good thing about the doubt from his spectacular observe report thus far.
It simply feels as if this Celtics workforce dances a little bit nearer to the proverbial line with their taking pictures than they did final 12 months. Taking greater than 53% of your photographs from behind the arc is excessive to a traditionally unprecedented diploma, and it leans right into a shot that’s, from a sheer mathematic perspective, extra inconsistent than some other. Their counter choices have been deemphasized from final season, and that leaves them extra depending on the photographs discovering the underside of the rim than ever earlier than.
After final evening, two statements are true: the Celtics showcased their unfathomable offensive ceiling with a three-point barrage earlier than the halftime break, they usually suffered a blowout loss partly because of unbalanced and ineffective offense within the second half. There have been different elements behind the loss, sure — as talked about above, this was a SEGABABA, they usually had been additionally missing the companies of Brown and Luke Kornet — however for the second, it felt like a microcosm of the strangeness of the offense that we’ve seen all season thus far.