ESPN analyst eviscerates Celtics' approach vs. Knicks in second-half collapse

The Boston Celtics rewrote the record books on Monday. Unfortunately, it was for the wrong reasons. The team that averaged the most makes from beyond the arc in the regular season [17.8] registered the most missed threes in a playoff game in NBA history, per StatMuse.

The league's reigning champions launched 60 threes, converting on only 15 of their attempts in a 108-105 overtime loss to the New York Knicks. Boston's barrage of bricks was at the heart of letting a 20-point lead slip away in the second half.

"That second half was probably the dumbest second half I've ever seen that the Celtics have played," expressed ESPN analyst Jay Williams on "Get Up."

The former Duke Blue Devil star likened it to "watching an AAU basketball game," stating: "At some point in the game, you have to be able to get and attack the rim when you don't see the shots going."

Boston launched the most threes in the regular season, averaging 48.2 per contest. Williams acknowledged that shot profile while delivering his critique of what unfolded at TD Garden in the series opener of this rivalry clash.

"I know this is what the Celtics do. But my mind was blown away [by] how many times they settled, and they took contested three after three."

The Celtics' shot selection wasn't the primary problem

Boston repeatedly generated quality looks in Game 1. The issue wasn't the process, but the inability to capitalize on what it created.

According to NBA.com's tracking data, 32 of the Celtics' missed threes were on open looks, meaning the defender was four to six feet away. They fared 7/32 [21.9 percent] on those.

The tracking data considers 24 of those three-point tries wide open, with the closest defender at least six feet away. They were 7/24 (29.2 percent) on those.

Boston shot 38 percent on open and wide-open threes in the regular season, per NBA.com.

"I thought throughout the night, for the most part, we fought for good looks," said Joe Mazzulla post-game. "But yeah, you can find 5-10 that we can be better at."

His star players struck a similar tone, conveying they mostly liked the shots their team took, but there were some they wished they could take back.

"Some of them felt good," voiced Jaylen Brown. "Some of them felt like we maybe forced it to shoot. Definitely, our rhythm and our timing were a little bit off. We got a lot of great looks, but there may be some truth to that. We've got to look at the film and see what happened in that second half."

"[There were] probably some times where we settled," acknowledged Jayson Tatum. "I could've put more pressure on the rim. But a lot of times, we felt like we got really, really good looks, and [we] couldn't convert."

Basketball is a simple game that ultimately boils down to whether the ball goes through the net when it leaves one's fingertips.

New York drilled 17/37 [45.9 percent] of its shots from behind the arc. Boston's frigid performance plunged to depths never before seen in an NBA playoff setting.

"I loved the majority of our shots," stated Mazzulla from the Auerbach Center podium on Tuesday. "You have to be able to make open shots."

The Celtics' track record suggests that it will happen in Game 2. More likely than not, it will remain that way for most, if not for the duration of this series.

So, while the Knicks gained needed affirmation -- they were previously 0/10 against the teams with the three best records in the regular season, the Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Cleveland Cavaliers. What will determine who advances to the Eastern Conference Finals remains with the series' favorites.