Boston Celtics Prioritized Shooting on Draft Night

The Boston Celtics looked to fix their shooting problems on Draft night

The Boston Celtics did not make the blockbuster trade that seems to elude them every draft night. They made a safe pick and made more second round selections than anyone can need. The Celtics may not have transformed their franchise, but they made it clear that shooting can no longer be a problem for this team.

The Celtics made four selections with Jayson Tatum, Semi Ojeleye, Kadeem Allen, and Jabari Bird. Not a single one of them shot under 34 percent from three, and Tatum was actually the only one under 37 percent from three.

There are obvious volume discrepancies that easily explain how Tatum should not even be compared to any of the second rounders in terms of ability to score. That being said, the Celtics are getting this team as many opportunities to improve the shooting as possible.

The Celtics have multiple serious needs that need to be addressed, but everyone saw the biggest problem in the playoffs was missing open shots, particularly off the bench. The Celtics have prioritized defense over anything else in drafting in this rebuild, but that may have shifted a bit this draft.

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They did not lose that entirely this season. The Celtics believe in Tatum on defense, and versatility continues to be the ultimate goal. That being said, the Celtics clearly put more weight on raw shooting in this draft than they have in the past .

The Celtics have taken a lot of offensive projects that they believe they can teach to shoot. In this draft the Celtics looked for more players that will be closer to ready right when they get in the NBA as rookies.

There is a chance that none of those second rounders even make the roster, but the front office has made sure that Stevens will have more quality shooting to try and use this off season. Sample sizes and big disappointments in other areas make some of their picks incredibly hard to trust, but there is potential to be a solid shooting in all of them.

Stevens knows that the starting unit is going to play phenomenal defense. Even without another max contract free agent, the Celtics established themselves as a top offense last season. The second unit, however, pulled everything back.

The Celtics still believe Marcus Smart will get better, and Jaylen Brown showed flashed of the brilliance they hope to get out of him. Tatum, on the other hand, is coming in as one of the most polished offensive players this team has ever drafted.

Tatum could come in and immediately be the top scoring option off the bench. The second unit is going to be incredibly young. Smart has done more than enough to be trusted as the ball handler. Then Tatum will be there to finally have an option that can both hit his open shots, as well as create offense when things slow down.

If just one of these second round players work out and give the Celtics some above average shooting, then this draft could transform the second unit shooting problem.

There are the hopes that Guerschon Yabusele will also become a stretch forward. The Celtics may be losing one of their best three point shooters in Kelly Olynyk, but they are making sure that they will find someone who can replace that.

Danny Ainge did not give the fans the exciting Draft day trade that would have transformed Boston’s chances of wining the championship, but Ainge continues to find pieces that can help this current team get rid of the problems that held them back so much.

The off season is still young, and free agency is just around the corner. Ainge continues to hoard all his assets, but there will still be plenty of opportunities out there.

The Celtics came out of this draft feeling as though they got the best player, and they added to what continues to be the most ridiculous collection of draft picks.

Next: Initial Draft Reactions for the Boston Celtics

It may be difficult for fans to see someone like Jimmy Butler go for a price that the Celtics easily could have topped, but Ainge is working towards something bigger.

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