There was a jubilant feeling in the Celtics’ locker room following their 131-95 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Players were joking at their lockers. Smiles filled the room.
A brief exhale after finally seeing a night when the result matched the process — a night the Celtics had been waiting for.
Entering Wednesday night, the Celtics ranked 27th in three-point percentage, knocking down 32.8% of their 44.3 attempts. Still, they were happy with the process and the shots that were being generated.
According to NBA tracking — which should be taken with a grain of salt but offers a useful reference — 255 of their 531 three-point attempts (48%) entering Wednesday were considered “wide-open,” with the closest defender six or more feet away. Another 221 were labeled “open,” with the nearest defender between four and six feet. They shot 37.3% on “wide-open” looks and 29.9% on “open” ones.
Again, those numbers serve more as a baseline. But looking back, a good chunk of the threes they were missing were quality looks. And while the Celtics stayed confident in the process and kept firing away, frustration was inevitably beginning to set in. Derrick White, who entered the night shooting 30-of-107 (28%), and Payton Pritchard, who was shooting 22-of-86 (25.6%), both admitted as much.
“I was frustrated, obviously,” White said. “Especially when you think you are getting good looks that you should knock down. It’s definitely frustrating.”
Eventually, the shots were going to fall. And maybe a date with the depleted Memphis Grizzlies — playing without Ja Morant, Zach Edey, Ty Jerome, Brandon Clarke, Scottie Pippen Jr., and Javon Small — was exactly the spark the Celtics needed to get that engine going.
The Celtics drilled 21 threes, tying their season high and marking the second-most made by any team this season. They hit them at a 41.2% clip (21-for-51), a new season-best. They shot at least 35% in every quarter and over 40% in three of the four. Their 41.2% mark is the highest by any team in a game with at least 50 three-point attempts this season.
“We made shots,” Joe Mazzulla said. “I thought we’ve been getting really good looks and playing good offense, just not seeing the result. So I think the process has been there. Tonight, you kind of saw the result of that. But we’ve got to keep that up every night. We’ve got to be able to continue to execute, to find good looks.”
Ten different Celtics knocked down at least one three-pointer, one shy of the franchise record. Seven players made at least two. In a much-needed breakthrough, Pritchard (5-of-10) and White (3-of-6) led the way, nearly matching Memphis’ total as a team (8). The Celtics improved to 59-6 in the Mazzulla era (including playoffs) when making 20 or more threes. In 113 games (including playoffs), shooting 40% or better, they’ve lost only eight.
“I think we’ve been getting a lot of good looks. Especially shots that we want to take. [Pritchard] went 5-for-10 tonight. It’s nice to see. I feel like me and him have both been like back-and-forth, who is struggling more,” said White. “So it was good to see them knock down shots when you’re getting the looks that we’ve been getting. We’ve got to continue to fight for those good looks and shoot them with confidence.”
Of course, you’re not going to shoot 40% from three every night. And the Celtics don’t need to. League-average for three-point percentage has been hovering around 36% since the early 2000s. It’s right there again this season. When the Celtics shoot 36% or better, they are a perfect 4-0. They just need to be average to be good.
“Regardless of the result, you just got to keep producing the good ones,” Luka Garza said. “You just have to keep fighting to create those looks every time. I mean, with the shooters that we have — the level of shooters that we have — you just want to get those shots up as often as you can, because they’re going to go down. The law of averages always says that. So it was good, especially at home, to get those shots going early. I think that gave us a lot of energy and boosted us throughout the game, but you’ve got to be able to find a way even when those shots aren’t going down.”
It was only a matter of time before the shooting turned around. And now, the Celtics have hit 36% from three in three of their last five games. They aren’t out of the woods yet, but a season-best night from deep was exactly the momentum boost this team needed as they look to keep it rolling.
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