Boston Celtics learning to win without the 3 point shot

The Boston Celtics know how important it is to be able to win without the three point shot

The Boston Celtics struggled quite a bit to get that first playoff series win, but they leave that series in a much stronger position than they entered it, other than the Jaylen Brown injury of course. Going into the series against the Milwaukee Bucks, the Celtics should have been in a position to dominate the three point shooting, and it almost ended up costing them the series.

The Celtics were the second best three point shooting team in the NBA this season, with the best three point defense. The Bucks were not even close in either category, and that was supposed to be the biggest advantage for the Celtics from the regular season.

Instead, the Bucks shot out of their mind, and the Celtics could to get anything going form deep. The Bucks realized how weak the Celtics are when they start forcing three point shots, so they locked down the paint and left the Celtics with nothing.

The insertion of Thon Maker made it difficult for the Celtics to get anything on the inside, and the versatility of the Bucks took away all the space on the outside. Other than their blowout victory, the Celtics never got a clear advantage from three, and the Bucks had multiple games shooting better than 40 percent from deep.

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It was not at all what they expected coming into this series, but it quickly became clear that the Celtics needed to figure out a way to win without their three point shot. The Celtics needed to get the easier buckets, and would not be able to generate offense without opening up space with easy looks on the inside.

The Celtics pressed a lot from three point range, and they shot miserably from deep in all their loses, without any real option to make up for it. In game seven, however, the Celtics found something different, and their offense looked phenomenal, while still shooting below their season average from three.

The Celtics shifted gears and looked to instigate everything from the inside. Any time someone was attacking, it was to get an easy look at the rim. When you add on the domination in transition, the Celtics found every way to make things easier on offense, and they were able to continually score points despite getting nothing from deep to start the game.

Don’t get me wrong, the Celtics will always need three point shooting to be at their best. With Semi Ojeleye in the starting lineup, they have shooters at every single position, and this team knows how important it is for them to always hit their open shots.

The problem is that they have a lot of streaky shooters, and the worst thing is when they take their shooting for granted. The Celtics are not going to chuck their way out of slumps, but they made it clear in game seven that they can manufacture points without that deep shot.

The Celtics will always let the three pointers come to them, and nobody should be passing up open looks. Shots will eventually fall for the Celtics, but they are not going much further if they cannot win like they did in game seven, without dominant three point shooting.

The Philadelphia 76ers have better shooters than the Bucks, so the Celtics know they have to be better from three. What they also know, however, is that the three pointers get so much easier when they create points on the inside, and the pressure the defense takes off makes all the difference.

If the Celtics have the mentality that they need to out shoot teams, they will not get far. In that first round series, it felt a lot like the Celtics wanted to impose their will from three point range, and it just was not happening.

In game seven they shifted gears, and discovered that their offense can dominate without the three pointer. The Celtics made it clear that they can make things easier on their offense, and they do not need to be perfect to give the defense enough to win.

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Three point shooting is always going to be the ceiling of this team, but their finishers are just as good inside as they are outside. The Celtics are learning how to make things easier on themselves, and if they can find a way to score in the paint and in transition against the 76ers, they do not have to worry about a shooting slump ending their season.