The reigning champs are in a great spot as the playoffs loom. They are sitting in second place in the Eastern Conference, 8.5 games behind the Cleveland Cavaliers. The team has also been playing great as of late. After last night’s loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the team finished its seven-game homestand with a record of 5-2 which included victories over the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers. However, they do have a weakness which, if not corrected, could get in the way of a repeat.
A common trend occurs when the team is losing games. As a part of head coach Joe Mazzulla’s five-out offensive scheme, the team lives and dies by the three-point shot. When the threes are falling, the Celtics look unbeatable, and when the team’s three-point shooters get cold, you see a team that is overly reliant on the three-point shot.
In the team’s recent loss to the Thunder, the Celtics started strong out of the gate from three-point land, hoisting up 22 attempts in the first quarter alone and tying an NBA record with 63 attempts for the game. The big difference is that the C’s converted only 5-27 of their three-pointers in the second half as opposed to when the team came out of the gates scorching hot, converting on nine three-pointers in the first quarter.
Even though the Celtics scored 36 points in the paint, going forward, the team needs to attack the basket more and get higher quality shots when the threes aren’t falling. Otherwise, they will be prone to falling behind in games or watching their leads disappear.
The Celtics have 16 games left on their schedule, which means they still have plenty of time to fix their glaring issue. I hope that the team can overcome their heavy reliance on the three-point shot, because between the continuity, chemistry, and battle-testedness of the roster, they are in a great position to be back-to-back champs.