I know it's a hot take. Most teams aren't winning games when the 3-ball isn't falling. However it's still alarming to me the C's keep jacking them up when they are doing horrible and they choose to die by it. Same thing happened 2023 vs. Miami. Again last year vs. NY in the playoffs. This team has talent and an ability to win without needing the 3s but for some reason they just keep trying. In the 3rd quarter, Jaylen had 13 of the team's 15 points. He did that with mostly twos. Meanwhile it's brick city from everyone else behind the arc and the Knicks won the game that quarter.
I'm still worried it's gonna cost us in the playoffs even when JT returns. And I say this believing NY is a great team, but not invincible. But we make them look so much better with our own ineptitude sometimes.
You have your answer in the game just before this, vs Miami - first half we shot 48% overall, 5% from 3, while NY shot 48% overall and 37% from 3. Then in the 2nd half we shot 57% overall and 56% from 3 while NY shot 34% overall and 29% from 3.
First Half:Celtics FG/FGA % 3FG/3FGA %
Hauser 0-5 0% 0-5 0%
Jaylen 6-15 40% 0-3 0%
White 2-11 18% 0-6 0%
PP 1-6 16% 0-2 0%
Vuc 1-3 33% 0-0 -
Team 14-47 30% 1-20 5%
Heat FG/FGA % 3FG/3FGA %
Wiggins 7-10 70% 3-4 75%
Bam 5-10 50% 2-5 40%
Powell 5-8 63% 2-4 50%
Jaquez 3-6 50% 0-1 0%
Ware 1-5 20% 0-2 0%
Team 21-46 48% 7-19 37%
Second Half:Celtics FG/FGA % 3FG/3FGA %
Hauser 1-2 50% 0-1 0%
Jaylen 5-10 50% 1-4 25%
White 4-9 44% 4-6 67%
PP 7-9 78% 4-4 100%
Vuc 3-5 60% 0-0 -
Team 21-37 57% 9-16 56%
Heat FG/FGA % 3FG/3FGA %
Wiggins 3-6 50% 2-3 67%
Bam 0-3 0% 0-1 0%
Powell 4-7 57% 1-3 33%
Jaquez 1-3 33% 1-2 50%
Jovic 0-5 0% 0-4 0%
Team 13-38 34% 6-21 29%
Shooters always feel like the next shot is going in. I think they need to have that confidence because once they lose it and hesitate then it's definitely not going to go in and they might get the yips. I know it sucks for us as fans watching them brick it and they keep doing it, but I'm pretty sure most of these teams try to instill that mindset of "if you're a shooter let it fly - shoot yourself out of a slump". IF you're a shooter - if someone like Queta did it and kept bricking it I'm sure someone would tell him to stop wasting his and the team's time
And what happened in Miami is kind of the perfect justification for them to keep shooting - they shot 5% from 3 in the first half (1-20) and 56% from 3 in the 2nd (9-16). In a way it's kind of vindication for them to keep shooting...they will always think it's going to turn around while we on our couches are pulling our hair out because they are
missing 
Unfortunately our team strategy is to shoot a high % of 3s, with the exception of Jaylen, who is shooting the most long midrange shots of any player this season. If we use the adage we are happy when the shot goes in and sad when it does not, because the miss rate on 3s is higher than 2s, we will spend a bigger % of our time being upset e.g. if the team shoots 35% from 3 we will be mad 65% of the time because they will miss 65% of the time. Vs if they shot 2s at 50% we would only be mad 50% of the time.
But if you took 40 shots from 3 and made 35% of them that's 7 shots made which is 21 points, if they shot 40 shots from 2 and made 50% of them that's 10 shots made which is 20 points so it's about the same result, but we just end up being madder for longer because of their 3s strategy than if they shot 2s
If it's any consolation, Phantom, this season we are shooting the lowest amount of 3s per game (42.4) than we did since 2021-22, where we shot 37.1. Last season we shot 48.2 and our championship season we shot 42.5.
