Accept it; Joe Mazzulla is right in 3-point obsession
Beneath the shadow of freshly draped Banner 18, the Celtics rained so many 3-pointers down on the Knicks, it was as if they fell from the heavens themselves.
Warn all ye who loathe basketball analytics: the quest for Banner 19 will start behind the arc.
Jayson Tatum set the tone for a historic Celtics shooting performance just 12 seconds into Banner Night, pulling up for a flawless 26-footer. By the time the first quarter ended, every starter had made a three, and Boston was up 43-24 on New York.
"The statistics do not lie," Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck told the crowd during the Celtics championship ring ceremony pregame.
If anything, the stats shouted this truth in the season opener:
"JOE MAZZULLA WAS RIGHT IN HIS OBSESSION WITH THE 3-POINT ATTEMPTS."
How far we've come with Mazzulla Ball, the 3-pointer heavy style of play that drew plenty of doubt before it led to Banner 18. But Mazzulla's offense is simply undeniable when orchestrated by Tatum and Jaylen Brown firing on all cylinders. New York never stood a chance against Boston's offensive onslaught of 28 three-point field goals made – a franchise record.
Why was the focus on three-pointers such a hot topic during Mazzulla's rookie season, in 2022? Was it simply because Tatum and Brown hadn't won before, and here came a young and largely inexperienced head coach?
This writer admits to being underwhelmed at the coach's answer assertion back then about the 3-point attempt being the most important statistic in an NBA game. I worried that through the Celtics pursuit of threes, they would lose the defensive identity they built under Ime Udoka, because that style of play showed a level of maturity the team had lacked with Brad Stevens as head coach. I worried the idea would lead to selfish, and maybe even lazy play. I was also a little prejudiced against the nerd-driven analytical invasion of basketball.
Yeah, I was wrong.
Maybe I wasn't totally off-base in 2022, or even in 2023. Maybe I'll be right again to doubt Mazzulla's method if he tries it with a less gifted roster than these heavy favorites to repeat in the Finals. But I'll tell you what, I'll exercise a lot more caution the next time I cast any aspersions about the importance of chucking from a distance after who I've seen this team turn into – especially with 3-point shooting big Kristaps Porzingis in street clothes on a record night.
Mazzulla's Celtics do it all. They outrebounded the Knicks 40 to 34, they chased down blocks at the rim, and they backed each other up when drives to the rim got squirrely. Tatum was transcendent after a summer in which he was humbled internationally by Steve Kerr. He finished the night with 37 points and went 8-11 from three. More impressively, he recorded 10 assists. Two years ago, that type of creation would only come from the Celtics star when his shot wouldn't fall.
Boston didn't sacrifice their toughness or any other aspects of their game with the focus on the three-pointers and they faced one of the toughest opponents in the Eastern Conference. They came out on top, 132-109.
With a couple minutes left in the game and the reserves on the floor, Celtics fans rose to their feet and started a chant for the team to break the NBA 3-point record (29) set by Milwaukee in 2020.
"One more three, one more three, one more three," echoed from the balconies.
The coveted 30th three-pointer never fell for Boston. Lucky for them, there's a whole season ahead to break that record.
