The Boston Celtics entered this year’s postseason as the favorite to win it all and defend their title, but the team will have a tough time getting past the New York Knicks if they continue to operate like they did in their Game 1 loss. Boston squandered a 20-point lead following a dominant second quarter thanks to one of the worst second halves in recent playoff memory from any team.
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The Celtics are known for taking an incredibly high number of three-point attempts, but Boston learned early on in this series what will happen when those shots aren’t failing. The 2024 NBA Champions clanked from deep all night, providing an opportunity for New York to storm back and eventually walk away victorious in overtime.
A game the Celtics appeared to have won by the time the third quarter rolled around, Jay Williams explained why Boston played one of the most pitiful second halves he’s ever witnessed. The former guard also highlighted some of Boston’s key second-half statistics, criticizing their squad for not taking the ball inside more.
“The second half was probably the dumbest second half I’ve ever seen that the Celtics have played,” Williams said on ESPN’s Get Up. “49 of the team’s shot attempts in the second half, 37 of those were threes. It felt like I was watching an AAU basketball game.”
Williams also pointed out that the Celtics failed to go inside the three-point line on seven of their last 10 possessions in the third quarter, simply refusing to change up their play-style. As a result, Boston made history on Monday night – but not in a good way – by missing 45 of their 60 three-point looks.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, but something was very clearly broken yesterday night.
Shaquille O’Neal blasted the Celtics for taking too many threes
One of the most unstoppable inside forces the league has ever seen, Shaquille O’Neal has never been one in favor of the league wide three-point takeover. When teams are hopelessly chucking up threes without ever looking down low, though, Shaq isn’t afraid to share his opinion.
The Celtics were expected to make the NBA Finals in 2023 but were thwarted by the Miami Heat because of their similar reliance on the three-ball. In response, Shaq blasted Boston’s star duo and even playfully threatened them after both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown failed to show up during Game 7 of the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals.
“When my team goes 0 for 10 in the first quarter, you know what I’m telling everybody? ‘Don’t shoot another three, or I’m punching your face,’” Shaq said.
Three-point shooting is understandably an important facet for every team’s offense. But, when those shots aren’t falling, teams better have a backup plan, or they’ll end up just like the Celtics. Credit where credit is due, however, the same strategy led to a dominant run to a ring last year, so maybe we are all just overreacting to a one game sample size.
