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Celtics revert to controversial tactic in stunning Game 2 loss to 76ers
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- Celtics revert to controversial tactic in stunning Game 2 loss to 76ers
The Celtics have had one of the best offenses in NBA history this season, but it's looked a little bit different than years past this regular season. The reliance on the 3-point shot has gone down (12 percent decrease in attempts per game compared to last season) while Boston has found other ways to maximize the team's efficiency (offensive rebounding, turnovers).
Those trends worked well for Boston in Game 1 against the 76ers on Sunday. On Tuesday, however, the Celtics reverted back to costly past habits that set the stage for a stunning upset defeat to the undermanned Sixers.
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While Philadelphia was shooting the lights out on a host of uncontested 3-point attempts (19-of-39) all night, the hosts reverted back to the formula that led to a second-round upset by the Knicks last season. The Celtics took 55 percent of their shot attempts from 3-point range, knocking down just 26 percent of those 3s in a 111-97 defeat.
The reliance got worse as the game rolled on. In the fourth quarter, Boston attempted 22 shots and 16 came from beyond the arc. It was reminiscent of Boston's Game 1 loss to the Knicks last season at points, the last time Boston attempted 50 3-point shots in a playoff game. They took 60 in that defeat.
One year later, the Celtics went 13-of-50 from 3-point range (26 percent). Take Jaylen Brown 's hot shooting night out of that equation and Boston's percentages drop to 21 percent from 3 for the rest of the roster. Boston's offense especially dried up in crunch time as the Sixers broke open a 2-point game with a 17-3 run which led to Mazzulla to pull his starters with two minutes left.
"I thought we got great looks," Mazzulla said. "I thought we missed them, and you look at it, 91-89, they go on a run, we missed a lot of good shots, and we don't get them, you have to be able to score in close games against a team like that, and they made more shots on us down the stretch."
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While there were some open misses by role players, Boston's starting group also fell victim to chasing quick looks. Extra passes were non-existent. Quick contested attempts were numerous. The Sixers are far from a defensive powerhouse but they had Boston settling when things mattered most.
Brown scored a game-high 36 points but didn't get help from his supporting cast on the perimeter in the ugly loss. He came to the defense of his teammates after the defeat.
"I thought Sam and Payton both got good looks tonight," Brown said. "Both got some open shots. That's what we want. Continue to trust that process. But just continuing to play Celtics basketball. It starts on defense and then getting out and running also leads to the type of energy that we need. We just Payton. We trust Sam. We trust Baylor. We trust all of those guys to come in and impact the game. We just gotta continue to stay consistent with that and we'll be okay."
The confidence in teammates is necessary moving forward but the Celtics will be playing with fire if they remain among the extremes of 3-point shooting. It's cost them some early playoff exits before with the variance it brings. Against a undermanned Sixers squad, it's simply not necessary to secure a series win.
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