Three-point shooting no longer a "strength" for Celtics

In a recent interview, Brad Stevens stressed that the 2025-26 version of his Celtics will focus on the "strengths" of the present crew. Well, 3-point shooting accuracy does not appear to be a strong point for the returning veterans or the new additions to the roster.

Starting with Summer League, in two games - both wins - Boston is shooting 10-of-29 (34.4%) from the hinterlands. Not horrible, but probably not a number that indicates anything resembling "strength".

Ironically, Jayson Tatum, now lost for the upcoming season, hit almost that same percentage (34.3%) last season - down from 37.6% in 2023-24. The big loss in long-ball shooting has to be Kristaps Porzingis (among the missing), who shot 41.2% from deep last season. He constantly bailed out his team with 3-point shots that were released with a quickness that opponents found difficult to handle. Jrue Holiday (also gone) hit an uncharacteristic 35.3% from deep last season, after hitting 42.9% in 2023-24. And even the "almost-gone" Al Horford hit a semi-respecable 36.3% beyond the arc in the recent campaign.

So which members of the projected roster can supply the 3-pointers this coming season? Jaylen Brown? Nope. Not his strong point. But yes, both Derrick White and Payton Pritchard can handle that duty, but I doubt that is enough.

What this boils down to is that Joe Mazzulla may have to rely less on settling for 3-pointers and focus on intense defense, interior scoring, transisition opportunities and fast breaks. Gee, that sounds a lot like many of the "Celtics teams of old".

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