Celtics doomed by 3-point shooting, but placing blame goes beyond Joe Mazzulla
The numbers are always going to attract attention.
Celtics doomed by 3-point shooting, but placing blame goes beyond Joe Mazzulla originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . The Boston Celtics lived and died by the 3-pointer.
It's a cliche, sure, but it's true. Their season ended Saturday night in large part because they shot 13-for-49 from 3-point range against the Philadelphia 76ers -- a paltry 27%. Fans will want to blame head coach Joe Mazzulla for the approach.
They'll want to blame some of the players for chucking fearlessly. They'll see Derrick White's 5-for-16, Jaylen Brown's 3-for-9, Baylor Scheierman and Hugo Gonzalez each 0-for-3 -- and they'll think the fix is to stop shooting as many 3s. MORE: Joel Embiid, injuries and all, overcomes Game 7 demons The problem is that the modern NBA doesn't work like that.
The Celtics have something approaching an optimal shot diet. To maximize wins in the long run, shots at the basket and 3-pointers are the way to go. That's especially true with open 3s, and the Celtics had a lot of those.