Boston Celtics: 3 key things holding Cs back from contention
By Mark Nilon
Factor holding Boston Celtics back No. 2) Lacking free throws
With the likes of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Kemba Walker, one wouldn’t expect points to be a hard thing to come by for the Boston Celtics.
That said, to date the team finds themselves ranking middle of the pack in points per game ( rank 15th with 112.4) and, while there are many ways in which they could go about trying to improve in this area — such as swaying away from constant isolation sets — an easy method of pursuing improvements in scoring is to try and get their money’s worth at the free-throw line.
On the season, the Cs rank just 23rd in attempts at the charity stripe and, to make matters worse, convert on just 76 percent of said attempts, slotting them in at 22nd overall.
Their main offensive focal points in Tatum, Brown, Walker, and Smart are all players who traditionally love to drive and finish closer to the hoop, so seeing the team ranked so low in regard to initiating contact is somewhat surprising.
Upping their average of being ranked 15th in opponent fouls would certainly help their scoring efforts for, not only would it scare off teams from playing aggressive defense and, in turn, make it easier to buy a bucket, but should their opposition fall into foul trouble it would only stand to increase their opportunities to pick up cheap points at the free-throw line.