Boston Celtics: Did the preseason opener signal a new focus on 3-point shooting?

In their NBA preseason opener, the Boston Celtics took a ton of three-point shots. Was that part of Celtics coach Brad Stevens’ strategy, or did Boston take too many bad shots?

Within the first five minutes of their first preseason game Friday vs. the Charlotte Hornets, the Boston Celtics fired up five three-pointers–and that was just the beginning.

The Celtics finished with 27 three-point attempts in the first half and shot 9-for-47 from deep for the game. Boston’s bad shooting night, combined with loads of defensive breakdowns in the fourth quarter, led to a 104-97 loss.

Last season, in 101 regular season plus playoff games, the Celtics attempted more than 47 three-pointers just once, in a 116-113 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on January 16.

Boston launched 30. 4 three’s per game in 2017-18, good for tenth in the NBA and more than 10 three’s behind the league-leading Houston Rockets.

Was Boston’s bombs away mentality in the opener an aberration, or a sign of threes to come?

Last season, Boston made 37.7 percent of its three-pointers, with four players shooting 40 percent or better. Jayson Tatum had one of the best three-point shooting seasons ever for a rookie, while Al Horford led all centers in three-point percentage (42.9).

The Celtics starting lineup against Charlotte on Friday–Kyrie Irving, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Gordon Hayward–features five potential 40 percent three-point shooters, so it makes sense for Coach Brad Stevens to encourage a higher volume of distance shooting.

But did the Celtics players take it too far?

In the first half, the Celtics hoisted 27 three-pointers against 26 two-point field goals. Boston scored 60 points in the first half and led by as many as 20 points despite making less than 30 percent of its shots from behind the arc.

The Celtics smothering defense forced a lot of Charlotte misses, and the guy in green were unafraid to push the ball up the court and launch from downtown before the Hornets had a chance to match up in transition.

Five players–Brown, Irving, Hayward, Marcus Morris, Semi Ojeleye–attempted at least five three-pointers each, with Brown leading the way eight three-point field goals. Of the 14 Celtics who played in the opener, only Robert Williams III and PJ Dozier did not attempt a three-point shot.

While I’m sure Stevens is encouraging his players to feel free to fire from downtown (it looks like Aron Baynes‘ green light has continued into this season), I don’t think he’s necessarily happy with the Celtics shot selection in the first game.

A lot of Boston’s three-point attempts came in early offense, on one pass or less, and without the ball touching the paint beforehand. These types of three-point shots tend to be lower percentage looks and, when missed, often to lead to fast break chances for the opponent.

When the ball moves from side to side, and three-point shots are catch-and-shoot or come after a paint touch, the value of the shot increases exponentially. It’s these type of inside-out three-pointers the Celtics want to be taking, and are more likely to make.

Quite uncharacteristically of a Brad Stevens’ coached team, Boston assisted on only 12 of its 36 made field goals. Too often, the Celtics played too much one-on-one ball, and the ball and player movement  was non-existent.

When the Celtics watch the film from this game, they’ll realize that in their exuberance to finally play again, the team lacked discipline and patience on the offensive end.

The Celtics should be a top-tier three-point shooting team this season, and will most likely increase the output from last season. But the biggest thing Boston can learn from this preseason loss against Charlotte is that they not all three-pointers are created equal–and they need to work together as a unit in order to get the right kind of shots.