{"id":61849,"date":"2023-12-15T20:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-15T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.celticsblog.com\/2023\/12\/15\/24001117\/three-leaf-clover-open-3s-jaylen-brown-screen-machine-kristaps-porzingis-coke-a-cola-boston-celtics"},"modified":"2023-12-15T20:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-12-15T20:00:00","slug":"three-leaf-clover-generating-open-3s-jaylen-screen-machine-and-is-porzingis-addicted-to-coke-a-cola","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/2023\/12\/15\/three-leaf-clover-generating-open-3s-jaylen-screen-machine-and-is-porzingis-addicted-to-coke-a-cola\/","title":{"rendered":"Three leaf clover: generating open 3s, Jaylen screen machine, and is Porzingis addicted to Coke-a-Cola?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo by David Dow\/NBAE via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Breaking down the Celtics\u2019 three-point shot diet, Jaylen coming off screens, and KP caught consuming harmful substances. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s good to be back. Naturally, LeBron and the Lakers<\/a> required the entire league to stop playing games in the middle of the season so they could capture their second questionable \u201cchampionship\u201d since 2020 in just another \u201clook at me move\u201d in a career full of them. While there haven\u2019t been a lot of games, that doesn\u2019t mean there isn\u2019t plenty to discuss. On we go. <\/p>\n

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\n Photo By Winslow Townson\/Getty Images<\/cite>
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Stat of the Week: 31.3% 3-point field goal percentage<\/strong><\/p>\n

Stop me if you\u2019ve heard this before (which is really a poor figure of speech in writing because you have no way to stop me), but the Celtics<\/a> shoot a lot of threes. That\u2019s, generally, a pretty good strategy, especially if you create open ones, or make not-so open ones. The Cs create the 22nd most wide-open 3s per game (defenders 6+ feet away) with 17.6 per game. They do, however, generate the most open 3s per game (defender 4-6 feet away). That boils down to a team that\u2019s slightly above average at generating open looks. That\u2019s all well and good. <\/p>\n

There is one particularly glaring issue related to the Cs\u2019 three point shot diet: pullup 3s. It\u2019s not just that they don\u2019t go in, and they don\u2019t (22nd in the league at 31.3%), it\u2019s the amount that\u2019s truly the issue. The Celtics lead the league <\/em>in pullup threes per game despite being one of the least accurate teams in the league. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, they shoot an elite 39.4% on catch and shoot threes. They still take plenty, 8th most in the league at 27.7 per game, but there\u2019s clear room to build a more efficient offense by trading in some of these pullups (looking at you Jayson Tatum who takes 5.7 per game at 28.6%) for literally anything else, even if it\u2019s just a simple pass. Ideally a handful of those pullup possessions morph into more catch and shoot opportunities or shots at the rim. The Celtics, and especially Tatum, need the threat of pullup shooting, but the efficiency doesn\u2019t justify the current volume and there\u2019s very little argument for taking this many.<\/p>\n

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\n Photo by Brian Babineau\/NBAE via Getty Images<\/cite>
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Xs and OOOhhhhhhhhs: Jaylen Brown screen connoisseur<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jaylen Brown is a fairly divisive player in the Celtics zeitgeist. One thing that is irrefutable, however, is Brown\u2019s success as an off-ball player, especially when he\u2019s coming off of screens. The stats back this up (otherwise I probably wouldn\u2019t have written about it because I\u2019m a coward). He\u2019s in the 78th percentile of efficiency for Off Screen possessions according to the NBA\u2019s tracking data. That is, in a word, good. <\/p>\n

The primary way the Cs get Jaylen these types of possessions is via wide pin down screens, usually set by KP. He can attack in a myriad of ways out of this fairly simple action. Mazzulla and co. will often have two spacers opposite of the pin down action, which gives JB an open floor to really make some magic. <\/p>\n

The three hasn\u2019t been going down as often as Celtics fans, and probably Jaylen, would like, but he\u2019s still dangerous when defenders go under the pin down and he\u2019s got time to settle, rise, and fire. It\u2019s an easy way for the Celtics to generate open catch and shoot threes for JB, and they regularly use it early in games to get him going. <\/p>\n

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