‘I like math because it has no emotions’: Kyrie Irving a fan of Celtics’ 3-point approach under Joe Mazzulla
"That’s what makes them special and makes them great."
The Celtics’ 3-point shooting approach has sparked a good amount of debate over the last couple of seasons, but one of their former stars sided with coach Joe Mazzulla’s philosophy.
Kyrie Irving likes Boston’s playing style, believing that it gets the most out of its players offensively.
“I like math because it has no emotions,” Irving told reporters after the Celtics defeated his Mavericks squad Saturday, via MassLive’s Brian Robb. “Outside of JT (Jayson Tatum) and JB (Jaylen Brown), when those other guys get it going like D-White (Derrick White) and Jrue Holiday, that’s what makes them special and makes them great.
“Everyone kind of criticizes them based on what their season is this year, but if you look at their first 42 games, it’s pretty similar compared to last year. Maybe two years off. This is a well-coached basketball team.”
The Celtics’ approach to 3-point shooting certainly helped them in their quest for a title last year. They led the league in 3-point attempts and were second 3-point efficiency, helping them hold the league’s top offensive rating. Boston’s 3-point shooting remained high in volume and efficient through the first two rounds of the postseason as well.
However, in its Finals win over Dallas, Boston somewhat struggled from deep, making just 33.8 percent of its 3-point attempts (down from its 38.8 percent mark in the regular season). The Celtics wound up winning the Finals with relative ease, though, due to their defensive efforts, defeating the Mavericks in five games.
This season, the Celtics have turned up their 3-point shooting a notch. They’re shooting 6.5 3-pointers more per game this season (49) than they did last year (42). That approach helped them get off to a 21-5 start on the season, often beating their opponents in resounding fashion.
But their 3-point shooting has taken a bit of a dip recently, which has caused their record to slip. They’re shooting just 35.2 percent from deep since Dec. 19, which is the 24th-best mark in the league, but have still averaged the most 3-pointers in the league over that time. As a result, Boston’s gone 11-9 in its last 20 games.
The vast majority of the Celtics’ 3-point attempts have been considered “open” or “wide open” by NBA.com’s tracking data over that time. They’re shooting just 32.3 percent on “open” 3-pointers over their last 20 games, down from the 37.9 percent mark from their first 26 games.
White was among the handful of Celtics who have seen a drop in 3-point makes as of late. After making 40.1 percent of his 3-pointers in the Celtics’ first 26 games of the season, White had only hit 32 percent of his 3-pointers in Boston’s previous 19 games before Saturday.
The Celtics guard might have gotten back on track, though, in their 122-107 win over the Mavericks. White scored 23 points on 7-of-16 shooting from the field and 4-of-10 shooting from distance. Additionally, Holiday added 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting (5 of 10 from deep) as he’s struggled with his deep shot all season (34.9 3-point percentage before Saturday’s game).
With White and Holiday making their shots, Boston showed its championship ceiling Saturday. As the Celtics hope that performance gets them back on track, Irving was asked if his former team is just on a different level than his Mavericks squad, who didn’t have Luka Doncic in Saturday’s game.
“They’ve lost a couple of games and Joe Mazzulla got into their [expletive] a little bit and you get the result you got tonight,” Irving said. “Going against us, playing with a verve, playing with a confidence, and taking care of the ball.
“They made adjustments and that’s what great teams do, especially when they are champions in the league. They handled our pressure, they adjusted to our zone coverage, they started getting open shots, and it’s a pretty easy game from there.”
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