Driven to success: Brown and Tatum take it to the Magic

In the Celtics’ resounding 121-94 blowout of the Magic, Boston put up the third fewest three-point attempts (37) of the regular season so far. Orlando and their third stingiest defense held them to even fewer just before Christmas (33) to stun the Celtics after Boston lead by 15 points at halftime.

But on Friday night, the defending champs found another way to win.

During this 2-3 stretch since losing to the Thunder, the Celtics shot 61-of-212 (28.8%) from behind the arc and beat writers and fans alike questioned the Mazzulla Ball way. Even after crushing Orlando, head coach Joe Mazzulla still defended the threes they were taking, and thankfully, making last night.

“I more like the way they got their shots. Al got some great kick-out threes from both Jaylen and Jayson. Jrue got two catch-and-shoot looks in the corner. He got two off-the-dribble looks off the pick-and-roll to his left hand,” Mazzulla said. “I like more the types of shots that they’re getting. To me, if we can get those guys good looks within our offense because of the way we’re executing, it just makes us better.”

Sure, the Celtics made a whopping 45.9% from 3, their sixth best night from distance, but it was their relentless rim pressure and paint attack that made the biggest difference. During one particularly strong stretch in the second quarter, Jayson Tatum scored on three consecutive possessions driving the ball.

Zooming out, as one of the most talented rosters in the league, it’s just so jarring to see that the Celtics rank last in open to wide-open two-point shots (8.2 FGA per game); the Bucks and Thunder are virtually tied at 15.9. They’re 26th in the league in shots in the restricted area and 27th in shots in the paint. While they still boast one of the most efficient offenses while shooting a record number of threes, could they be even better if they were a little more aggressive getting to the basket?

Mazzulla and his players have stressed that their perimeter scoring opens up driving lanes for their two star wings and we saw that a lot against the Magic. Let’s rewind. As the 2024 NBA Playoffs progressed towards the Finals, the Celtics drove the ball more.

This strategy unlocked success for the Celtics. With Tatum driving 19.2 times per game and Brown 17.6 times, the Celtics fully capitalized on their spacing. In modern basketball, the goal is to create “paint touches”—getting the ball into the opponent’s paint, where the defense…