The defending champion Boston Celtics are shaping up for another deep playoff run, and with the season winding down, they just broke a major NBA record.
The Celtics launched an NBA record 48.4 3-point attempts per game, and with 76 games played thus far, have attempted a historic 3,678 threes. That helped them break another NBA record for made threes, with them drilling 1,357 shots from outside.
A historic team such as the Celtics breaking several major NBA records would be a big deal, and it is, but perhaps for the wrong reasons. There has been ongoing discussion among fans about the NBA's style of play, with teams focusing more on shooting threes than driving to the basket.
The Celtics are case and point, with them aggressively launching threes each game, with more than half of their shots being jumpers.
The Boston Celtics just broke a major NBA record. Here's why it's bad for the game.
Statistically, launching threes is a great strategy, with most NBA teams shooting at least 35% from outside and the Celtics shooting nearly 37% from deep on high volume. The extra point really makes a huge difference, more than making up for shooting around 37% on more than half of their shots.
Watching a team attempt nearly 50 threes per game isn't particularly exciting, but it's completely logical. Teams want to make the most out of each possession, and shooting a high percentage on a high volume of threes is the way to do that.
The problem is that it's not fun to watch. In fact, my favorite team recently played the Celtics, and it was frustrating to see them take that many threes. Worse still, the ball often bounced back towards them when they missed from beyond the arc, allowing them to take second-chance threes.
How the NBA can solve its 3-point problem
The simple fix would be to pull the 3-point line out a couple of feet while also eliminating the corner three by having the line taper off. That would push the 3-point line out from nearly 25 feet at its farthest point to almost 27 feet. Also, getting rid of high-percentage corner threes would lower teams' 3-point percentage.
In this case, that would actually be a good thing since it would force teams to rethink their strategy of bombing away from outside. Teams going from shooting around 36% from deep to around 33% is a big difference, one that would force teams to shoot more inside the arc. Shooting closer to 45% on mid-range jumpers would be a statistically better alternative in that case.
It would also make the league's best shooters more valuable and add more spacing, making it easier to drive to the basket. More shot variety is what the NBA is lacking, and altering the 3-point line would force teams such as the Celtics to change their strategies.