Jan 18

ORL94
BOS121
Final
MIN116
NYK99
Final
CHA125
CHI123
Final
DEN133
MIA113
Final
UTA123
NOP136
Final
TOR112
MIL130
Final
OKC98
DAL106
Final
MEM140
SAS112
Final
BKN101
LAL102
Final
PHX125
DET121
Final

Jan 19

ATL119
BOS115
Final
PHI102
IND115
Final
WAS114
GSW122
Final
CLE122
MIN114
In Progress
HOU63
POR56
In Progress
SAS19-21
MIA20-20
SUN @8:00 PM UTC
DEN25-16
ORL23-20
FDFL @11:00 PM UTC

Jan 20

PHI15-25
MIL23-17
NBCSP @12:00 AM UTC
BKN14-28
OKC34-7
YES @12:00 AM UTC
WAS6-34
SAC21-20
NBCSCA @2:00 AM UTC
LAL22-17
LAC23-17
NBAt @2:00 AM UTC
CHI18-24
POR13-27
KUNP @2:00 AM UTC
DAL23-19
CHA10-28
NBAt @5:00 PM UTC
DET21-21
HOU27-13
FDDT @7:00 PM UTC
MIN22-19
MEM27-15
TNT @7:30 PM UTC
ATL22-19
NYK27-16
FDSE @8:00 PM UTC
PHX21-20
CLE34-6
FDOH @8:30 PM UTC
BOS29-13
GSW21-20
TNT @10:00 PM UTC

Jan 21

UTA10-30
NOP11-32
GCSE @1:00 AM UTC
CHI18-24
LAC23-17
CHSN @3:30 AM UTC
Boston Celtics

These 3-point trends explain Celtics' struggles in recent weeks

Celtics opponents are shooting better and better from the 3-point line.

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Joe Mazzulla shares his thoughts on how his team is handling their recent struggles and explains why the Celtics being held to a championship-level standard this season is the ‘ultimate compliment’ for the defending champions.

On Dec. 15, the Boston Celtics improved to 21-5 with a 112-98 road win over the Washington Wizards. The C's were flying high and sat just a half-game behind the Cleveland Cavaliers for first place in the NBA and Eastern Conference standings.

But since that victory in the nation's capital, the Celtics have mostly played .500 basketball with a 7-6 record in their last 13 games. The Celtics are still in second place with a 28-11 record, but the gap between them and the Cavs has widened to 5.5 games.

What's behind the Celtics' recent slump? A lot of it can be explained by the 3-point line.

The Celtics started out red-hot from 3-point range, including an Opening Night blowout win over the New York Knicks where Boston tied a single-game league record with 29 3-pointers made.

The C's shot 40.7 percent from beyond the arc over five October games. But in every subsequent month, Boston's 3-point percentage and number of 3-pointers made per game have declined, and the largest nosedive has occurred this month.

The Celtics are shooting just 32.8 percent in six January games, the fifth-worst rate in the league. They made only 14 of their 85 3-point attempts over the last two games.

Celtics opponents are shooting 41.6 percent from 3-point range in January, which is the third-highest rate this month. Boston's opponents have made more 3-pointers per game and their 3-point percentage has increased in each of the last three months.

Barring a dramatic turnaround, January likely will be the first month of the season in which the Celtics are making fewer 3-pointers and shooting a worse percentage on 3-pointers than their opponents.

Here's a month-by-month breakdown:

The Celtics' decrease in 3-point percentage is not a surprise when you look at the individual stats.

If you take the Celtics eight-best players and compare their 3-point percentage this season versus last season, only one player -- Payton Pritchard -- has improved. Everyone else is shooting worse, including a steep dropoff by Jrue Holiday.

The Celtics still lead the league in 3-point shots made (17.9) and attempted (49.4) per game, but they rank 15th in 3-point percentage (36.2).

How does that compare with their championship-winning campaign? Last year, the C's led all teams with 16.5 3-pointers made per game and 42.5 attemps per game, and their 38.8 3-point percentage ranked No. 2 behind the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Celtics scored 120.6 points per game last season, and they're at 118 points per game through 39 games this season. So even with a worse 3-point percentage, their overall scoring hasn't decreased very much.

The Celtics have a lot of good shooters, and despite the recent downtick in 3-point percentage as a team and individually, we shouldn't expect them to take fewer 3-pointers. In fact, we could see them shoot even more 3-pointers.

This strategy suits the roster Brad Stevens has built, and it played a pivotal factor in the Celtics winning Banner 18 last season. There's no reason to deviate from that plan.

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