Boston Celtics: 3 takeaways from Game 1 vs. 76ers
3. The 3-point discrepancy probably won’t hold…right?
During the regular season, the Philadelphia 76ers ranked 10th in 3-point percentage (36.9 percent) and 12th in made 3-pointers per game (11.0). In the first round of the playoffs, they shot 36.3 percent from deep, ranking second among all playoff teams in made 3s (11.4 per game).
In Game 1 Monday night, they shot a paltry 5-for-26 from downtown (19.2 percent), and though Boston’s defense had a lot to do with that, the Sixers probably aren’t going to shoot that poorly from 3-point range again.
The long range discrepancy was made even more drastic by the Celtics’ en fuego shooting night, as they knocked down 17 of their 35 attempts from beyond the arc (48.6 percent).
Sixers defense is biggest concern from tonight.
— Sheil Kapadia (@SheilKapadia) May 1, 2018
Having said that, Celtics made 17 3s and shot 47.2% from beyond the arc. They posted numbers that good just once in 89 games previously this season.
"They'll miss more shots" is not a teaching point, but they'll miss more shots.
That’s a 36-point difference from downtown, which was surprising to see from a Philadelphia defense that limited opponents to 34.2 percent shooting from downtown during the regular season, making them the second-best 3-point defense in the NBA.
Then again, even though it’s unreasonable to expect Rozier to continue making more 3s than the entire 76ers roster, it wouldn’t be that outlandish for the Celtics to have an advantage here. Percentage-wise, Boston was the only 3-point defense superior to Philly, limiting opponents to 33.9 percent shooting from downtown. It only allowed 9.4 made 3s a night as well (fourth).
Philly will shoot better. Boston will shoot worse. But credit to the Celtics for taking away all those curls and many of those transition 3s -- J.J. has 6 3PAs, but only two for Belinelli, three for Ilyasova, four wild ones for Covington.
— Mike Prada. (PRAY-duh) (@MikePradaNBA) May 1, 2018
On the offensive end, the Celtics actually ranked second in 3-point percentage (37.7 percent) and seventh in made 3s (11.5 per game) this season. Expecting 17 long bombs at a 48 percent clip on a nightly basis is obviously out of the question, but even if Game 1’s 3-point discrepancy felt unsustainable, it’s also not as far out of left field as one might expect.