A look at where the Celtics rank in 3-point shooting might surprise you
Calling all stat nerds! Please report to the comments section and dissect this graph. My novice eyes tell me that the the Celtics are in the top 30% or so of the league in 3-point percentage, but yet only six teams attempt less 3's than Boston does. So that begs the question, should the Celtics be shooting more 3-pointers... or is the reason why the team is shooting the 3 ball at a high percentage because they are more discriminate of when to launch it?3-Point Shooting By Team. Hello, Utah. pic.twitter.com/xGzpP8CwKZ
— Kirk Goldsberry (@kirkgoldsberry) January 31, 2021
A little bit of a chicken or the egg question. I know when things are going poorly in games, fans often yell at their tv's for the Celtics to "stop settling for 3-pointers!" Looks like Boston isn't settling for too many 3's. What complicates things is the older you are the more ingrained the idea of the 3-point shot being "dangerous" is in your head. "Live by the 3, die by the 3." Phrases like that. Math people have always knows that 33% from beyond the arc is the same as 50% from inside it. Might look worse, but it's all about efficiency.
So back to the prior question, what say you Celtics Lifers. Do we need to shoot more 3's? Or are we fine where we are at (low volume, high percentage)?