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Celtics’ 3-point shooting sparks debate over desire to change rules
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Celtics’ 3-point shooting sparks debate over desire to change rules


Celtics

“This is the best strategy. Television sucks too.”

Celtics’ 3-point shooting sparks debate over desire to change rules

Jayson Tatum made 22 three-pointers in the Celtics’ first two games. Erin Clark/Globe Staff

The Celtics’ move away from the three-point line again to open the 2024-25 season seems to cause some concern.

In their season-opening win over the Knicks, the Celtics broke the NBA record for most three-pointers made in a single game with 29 points. They also took 61 shots, but 13 of those came in the final eight minutes. He was chasing the record. They followed that up by making 45 3-pointers and scoring 17 points in Thursday’s win over the Wizards.

As Boston continues to shoot from deep, some analysts believe its style of play could pave the way for a rule change. Fox Sports’ Nick Wright believes the NBA may soon face an “existential crisis” due to the number of three-pointers the Celtics and other teams are making.

“With a 50 percent premium on 3-pointers, the smart way to play is probably what the Celtics did on opening night: make 60 shots,” Wright said. in question. “Let that be your entire offense, along with dunks and free throws. This is the best strategy. “This is also terrible television.”

The Celtics have adopted a mindset of shooting more threes since Joe Mazzulla became head coach. They ranked second in the league in 3-pointers made in the 2022-23 season (42.6 per game) and remained around that number last year (42.5 per game), leading the league in 3-pointers made.

If the Celtics’ first two games of the regular season and preseason games are any indication, they plan to make more 3-pointers this season. In their five-game performance slate, they averaged 52.6 three-point attempts per game; That’s five more three-point attempts per game than any other team in the NBA.

Mazzulla has often backed his approach by pointing to the mathematical advantage that 3-point shooting provides. He has also emphasized the importance of distancing to maximize environmental opportunities over the past few years.

But while the Celtics are taking advantage of the rules, there are others who share how they feel about Wright’s three-point approach. CBS Sports NBA writer Sam Quinn I agree with Wright’s view.“3s CAN be fun,” it reads. Steph’s (Curry) 3-way version is amazing. It’s great to see movement bowlers running runs to create space. It’s great to see pick-and-roll pull-ups. The boring thing is guys camping out in a corner and shooting.”

However, there was some disagreement with Wright’s view.

Action Network’s Matt Moore said, “There’s one thing I don’t understand about (the 3s): The Warriors are the most popular team in the last 25 years.” wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “This is built ENTIRELY on threes. Why is it great and wonderful when one team does it and boring when the other one does it? Movement crime, I understand. But is it just ’cause Curry won 7 percentage points more than them?”

Three-point shooting was a catalyst for the Warriors’ dominant run from 2014-22, finishing in the top five in attempts in three of their four championship-winning seasons. Of course, Golden State also had two of the best three-point shooters of all time at the height of their dynasty: Curry and Klay Thompson. So it would make sense to play to their strengths.

But the Celtics also have a strong corps of three-point shooters. All eight players who earned themselves the most minutes last season demonstrated the ability to make plus three-point shots at some point in their respective careers.

All eight of those players shot over 35 percent from beyond the arc last season (which is considered the average mark for 3-pointers). Additionally, the Celtics had three players in the top 15 and four in the top 50 in three-player shooting percentage last season, the highest of any team.

As the Celtics have had success from behind, The Dunker Spot’s Nekias Duncan believes the way they’ve created looks over the past few years has been organic.

“The Boston 3s conversation already feels limiting because outside of a few outlets (ahem), not enough respect is given to *how* they create the look they do from there,” Duncan said wrote to x.

According to Duncan, the Celtics did a good job of creating open looks from beyond the arc last season. According to NBA.com’s tracking data, they ranked first in 3-point shooting last season and made percentages on shots defined as “open” looks (the nearest defender is 4 to 1.5 feet away). Last season they ranked seventh in 3-point attempts on shots defined as “wide open” (the nearest defender is at least six feet away), but they were first in 3-point percentage on such shots.

Last season, 36.4 of the Celtics’ 42.5 3-pointers per game were described as “open” or “wide open.” Of the 106 three-pointers in the first two games of the season, 94 were described as “open” or “wide open.”

So it can’t be said that the Celtics are pushing 3-point attempts in order to score as many points as possible. Still, Wright believes the style of play should prompt a rule change and offers a few suggestions to possibly fix it.

“The simplest way to fix the 3-way problem is to change the scoring, but they never do that because the records get thrown away,” Wright said. “If it were 4s and 3s instead of 3s and 2s, it would fix it immediately because then it would be a 33 percent premium instead of a 50 percent premium. But that won’t happen, so you’ll have to adapt.

“Make the 3-point arc truly an arc, which means it never flattens out and you get rid of corner 3s,” Wright added. “You could also do something super radical and say: ‘Guess what, you know what else is worth three points? Dunks.’ I know this sounds crazy, but at its core, the NBA is at its best when guys fly over people and meet at the basket. That’s when it’s the best television product.”

For those wondering, the Celtics ranked 11th in corner 3-point attempts per game last season (9.3).