3 Studs, 3 duds from Celtics win in preseason opener vs. Nuggets

Dud - Depth three-point shooting

Jordan Walsh looked good overall. Baylor Scheierman looks to be in great shape. But the Celtics’ depth could not find a three-point basket to save themselves.

The Celtics' bench (minus Payton Pritchard) combined to shoot just 7-of-26 from behind the arc. Led by Drew Peterson, they found a rhythm toward the end of the game, but the start was ugly.

Scheierman’s first two three-point attempts went off the top of the backboard and then completely air-balled. He took both with confidence, but the result wasn’t what he wanted.

Boston’s success if heavily built on having elite three-point shooters all throughout the rotation. Outside of Luke Kornet, everyone in their top eight is money from behind the arc.

Guys like Scheierman and Peterson are billed as great three-point shooters, and they still can be, but this wasn’t an ideal start for them in the preseason.

They did other things well. Scheierman pushed the pace and snagged a nice steal, Peterson was able to put the ball on the floor and make plays, and Walsh was an energy machine for stints. But the three-ball just wasn’t there.

Again, some shots started to fall toward the end of the game, but more consistency should be the goal. And they’ll have a chance to accomplish that throughout the rest of the preseason.