1. The Boston Celtics need to love the rim
This may be the most important niche number of the season: 30.4%. That is the share of Boston’s shots that have come within the restricted area — eighth-lowest in the league, per Cleaning The Glass. It is about identical to their number last season.
Boston also ranks below average (19th) in free throw rate; they were 28th last season.
There is nothing wrong with being a jump-shooting team when you take and make the right jump shots. Boston leads the league in 3-point attempts and takes the second-fewest mid-rangers. That’s healthy, though Boston’s 3s tilt more above the break. All eight of Boston’s core rotation players are above-average 3-point shooters. No team has better spacing. The middle of the floor is wide open.
One intended payoff of all that open territory is the ability to attack it without any defenders in your way. The Celtics are at their best when they remember the rim and the foul line are still the most reliable sources of offense — immune from the cruel vicissitudes of shooting luck. They become vulnerable when they forget that — when they fall in love with hero-ball jumpers.
There is no need for major recalibration. Boston should rank in the top-3 in 3s. But on some nights against elite defenses — or when the 3s go cold — exchanging four or five jumpers for assaults on the basket can be the difference between winning and losing. Driving to kick it out should not be the default option every time one of Boston’s perimeter players hits the paint. If a corridor is there, seize it, even if it’s narrow. It’s OK to get a little grimy — to seek contact.
[Source](https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/39014974/zach-lowe-warriors-guard-playing-more-orlando-unsung-heroes)
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Thoughts?
by SerialRapper
12 Comments
That’s pretty good analysis this is where Jaylen should really shine doing straight line drives when there’s optimal spacing which should be a ton of possessions given Boston’s shooters
It’s something to watch. I’d like to see this broken down by lineup data. Consider their four most used bench players – Horford, Hauser, Pritchard, and Kornet. The first three are heavily 3P oriented, and Kornet is hardly attempting any shots at all.
It’s the starters who need to be aggressive attacking the basket come playoff time.
Agreed on those, was hoping KP takes more inside shots along with Jaylen in midrange
KP being out also worsens the numbers for us since the sample size is short at this point, hoping it improves as season goes
“Above average three point shooters”…is that actually true?
TIL vicissitudes was a word, Thanks Zach!
Lmao exactly what I posted the other day: https://www.reddit.com/r/bostonceltics/s/9yJNbie6cU
Is Zach on this Sub Reddit?
He’s certainly not wrong. We have a tendency to just jack up threes and it’s when we run our worst offense. When we drive and kick we are unbeatable.
JB needs to look to attack more and stop settling for 3s unless he is wide open. He needs to draw defenders in to get open 3s for our shooter like Lebron or just finish at the rim most possessions .
Mazzoula
By the numbers, this make sense…
But It’s crazy tho because I watch games where we’ve played good defensive teams and struggle they collapse the paint so hard. Every time we hit the lane we are met with 3 defenders and they disrupt all the lanes making kick outs difficult. It’s almost like the know we stretch the floor and want good looks in the paint. So they take that away and either gamble on steals or make us make the shots. In every single loss we shot 32% from 3 or less in which case had us looking for more opportunities inside. But teams know that and will pack the paint and make it impossible to score.
Let’s face it. If we are shooting poorly we are probably going to lose. If we shoot our average, we will win. This should not be surprising nor should it be any cause for concern. It’s great actually
It’s all about patience. If they move the ball and get the defense off balance those lanes to the rim would be wide open. Unfortunately our iso centric offense doesn’t include a lot of player movement or passing
Somebody not named Washburn please send this to Mazzulla.