Celtics’ three-point dominance disappeared during skid: ‘We’ve got to pick it up’

BOSTON — Joe Mazzulla often shares a few words with nearby people as he walks through his postgame press conference. Sometimes he expands on a point he developed on the podium. Other times he brings up a topic that he either didn’t want to discuss or didn’t want to talk about honestly in front of the microphones. He seems to occasionally send a message about what he considers to be an important part of the game, especially an aspect that might have been overlooked.

Walking off the podium on Sunday night after the Celtics narrowly held on for a 120-119 victory over the Pelicans, Mazzulla referenced the 44 three-pointers his team made. That would be above average in that category for any other team in the league, but not for Boston, which was on pace to break the single-season record for three-point attempts per game. The Celtics are used to creating more outside styles, but they have trended downward over the past month. While the decline in their three-point margin isn’t the only reason for their recent inconsistencies, it is one of the flashing lights that things aren’t going as smoothly for them as they were earlier in the season.

“I don’t know (why 3-point attempts are down),” Al Horford said. “I’m wondering about it too. I say, man, we have to pick this up. At the beginning of the season we had these numbers much higher and now we seem to be taking less of them. I like us to shoot a lot of threes, so that’s a really good question.

Early in the season, the Celtics had a huge advantage behind the arc in almost every game. Not only did they take and make more three-pointers than any other team in the league, but they also did a great job of limiting their opponents’ ranged attacks. As of December 8, a day after the Celtics fell to 19-5 while trying to make 60 three-pointers in a loss to Memphis, the Celtics were averaging 19 made three-pointers (the most in the league) on 51.4 attempts per game (the most in the league). league). Their opponents averaged 12.6 three-pointers (sixth in the league) on 35.3 attempts per game (fourth). In each game, the Celtics averaged 19.2 points over opponents from beyond the three-point line.

The math Mazzulla loves so much has taken a turn in the wrong direction. Being 7-6 over their last 13 games, the Celtics still made more three-pointers than any other team (46.0 per game), but they weren’t getting to the floor like they did earlier in the season. Adding in offensive losses dropped them to a shocking 24th in three-point percentage (34.1 percent) during that span, leaving them only fourth in three-pointers made per game (15.7). At the other end of the court, their ability to slow down opposing three-pointers was gone. Through those 13 games, they rank 20th in 3-pointers allowed (38.5 per game), 23rd in 3-point percentage allowed (37.7 percent), and 26th in 3-pointers allowed ( 14.5 per game). The Celtics’ three-point dominance all but disappeared during this stretch, during which they scored just 3.6 points per game against opponents from beyond the arc. Boston had to use more possession on three-point shots than its opponents to score those points.

3/4 from deep tonight for Al pic.twitter.com/2eCiYu66fM

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 13, 2025

In the absence of a superpower, the Celtics have fallen into their biggest rut in the last two seasons.

“We have a lot of good shooters,” Horford said, “so I feel like the more we shoot, the better chance we have. He also spreads the floor, opens it up a lot for Jaylen (Brown) and Jayson (Tatum). I’m sure we’ll go back there eventually. I can’t honestly tell you what it is right now. But I know we have practice (Monday) and a good film session after which we will continue to learn and deal with things.”

The recent three-point decline at both ends of the pitch may have been partly due to a change in attitude due to the return of Kristaps Porziņģis. While the 6-foot-6 center takes a fair amount of long balls, he doesn’t spend nearly all of his time on the pitch like Horford. Defensively, Porziņģis’ strengths lie on the edge, not necessarily on the perimeter. It makes sense that the Celtics’ three-point defense suffered when Porziņģis appeared on the court. They allowed 40.5 three-pointers per 48 minutes with him, which was about six more attempts than without him, and the turnover disparity only increased in the overall game, 7-6. Throughout the regular season, Celtics opponents shot a whopping 41.8 percent from three-point range when Porziņģis was in the game. While this percentage is certainly due to some regression, the Celtics will likely continue to allow more three-pointers with a big man on the court. This could work, as it did when they finished 23rd in three-point attempts per game last season and still finished second in defensive efficiency. It’s just, stylistically, not the way they defended earlier in the season.

Although the Celtics held on in what Horford called a “crazy” win over New Orleans, the game followed a similar pattern to several recent losses in Boston. The Celtics’ starting lineup, which had struggled recently, fell behind early on and then barely held on to the lead late in the game. After several odd errors late in the fourth quarter, including a five-second inbounds error with 6.6 seconds left, the team only survived when C.J. McCollum’s player was ejected at the final buzzer. Mazzulli’s team shot just 29.5 percent from three-point range (13 of 44). The Pelicans made more three-pointers (17) than the Celtics despite making seven fewer attempts. Dejounte Murray, whose season-high three-pointers were three, made five in the first quarter alone.

The Celtics haven’t made more three-pointers than their opponent in any of their last four games. Before this streak, they had lost the fight for three points only four times throughout the season.

They discover what the other side feels.

“I think teams are just guarding us the way they’re trying to guard us (to keep the Celtics from shooting three-pointers),” Derrick White said. But I think it will come back and it will only be part of the season.”

White said teams have been switching more often against the Celtics lately.

“But I also think we weren’t really shooting as much as we’re capable of, so maybe you’re shooting a little less than you would have felt,” White said. “So it’s just part of the season. There are ups, there are downs. There will probably soon be a game where we shoot a few people and then one where we don’t. So we just have to keep learning and growing and finding other ways to win.

The Celtics almost found a unique way to lose on Sunday. With 3:25 minutes left in the game and his team trying to build a 114-110 lead, White mistimed an inbounds pass despite minimal defensive pressure. Later, with Boston leading by 3 points, Tatum missed two free throws to keep the Pelicans within a one-possession game with 13.4 seconds left. After White made a smart foul to ensure New Orleans wouldn’t miss the game-tying three-pointer, McCollum hit both of his free throws to cut the Celtics’ lead to 120-119 with 6.6 seconds left. White was called for a five-second cross-court violation. He thought he had signaled a timeout, but the referee disagreed.

“He said it would be five seconds before I called a timeout,” White said. “But I got the ball a lot and I thought I had a pretty good internal clock. But he said he got up to five. I don’t know how, but luckily it didn’t cost us.”

The Celtics won despite late mistakes. They also won despite scoring from outside. They have won a lot of games because they had the three-point advantage, but they haven’t had it lately. Mazzulla said their poor shooting at times affected their overall performance.

“(Beating the Pelicans) I thought we were already working on it, but during the game and stretching, yes, without a doubt,” Mazzulla said. “So we have to have the mental toughness to keep working at it and find ways to win without it. I’d say the biggest compliment is that we’re 28-11 and these are the types of conversations we’re having. It’s a beautiful place. I’m serious. I think it’s great. This is a great standard and great expectations, but we must meet them. We all know that. That’s the process, but when you’re… what are we, the third team in the league right now? Which isn’t great, but look at (the reaction). It sounds like a morgue, and that’s exactly what it should be, because of where we want to get to. So this is the highest compliment for us and we will continue to work on it.”

(Al Horford photo: Paul Rutherford/Imagn Images)