Last season Boston ranked 11th in 3 point field goal attempts, but merely 28th in 3 point percentage at 33.5%. Only the Kobe-Lakers and Tony Allen-Grizzlies ranked lower.
Now 15 games into the season, Boston ranks 5th in 3PA and 10th in 3 point percentage! That's a great improvement and takes the offense to a totally different level with all the space it creates. Let's take a look at our 3 point shooters.
Amir Johnson 46.2%
Leading the Celtics in 3 point field goal percentage... AMIR JOHNSON! He's only averaging 0.9 3PA per game and he probably hit most of those threes in one game against Chicago where he decided to go bonkers. Nevertheless, this is a big improvement over his 23.3% from last season. He started shooting threes in the 2011-2012 with the Raptors and his current percentage would be the highest of his career.
Terry Rozier 44.4%
This one I'm especially fond of. Rozier was a draft pick ridiculed by every "expert" out there. It was rated an F before Rozier ever played a game in the NBA. Last season he shot 22.2% from three. He was not known as a shooter going into the league so seeing him developing into a knock-down shooter in just one year is truly remarkable. I hope he can keep this up, even if it drops off a little bit, anything above 35% would be great.
Al Horford 42.9%
Hey guys, remember Jared Sullinger clanking threes off the back rim?Me neither. Horford swishing threes from the center position transforms the Boston offense when he's on the court. His pick-n-pop chemistry with IT is developing every game and should be deadlier as the season goes on. What's amazing is that Horford didn't start shooting threes consistently until just last season. Before that he had never averaged more than 0.5 threes per game. Last season he shot 34.4% from three, so he's improving a lot, though it's a small sample size as he's only played 6 games out of 15.
Jonas Jerebko 40.0%
A couple of weeks ago this percentage was in the lower 20s. Some people wanted to cut him out off the rotation, but Jonas started off slowly last year too. I didn't worry, eventually the Swedish Larry Bird would find his inner Legend. Last year he shot 39.8% and the season before that 40.6% after the trade to Boston, so he's pretty much right at his Boston average.
Jae Crowder 39.4%
Like Horford, this is a smaller sample size than the others as Crowder has just played 7 games out of 15. But this is a big improvement over last year's 33.6%. Gotta appreciate his overall development as a shooter, he was pretty much a defensive specialist in Dallas but Stevens has really allowed him to explore his offensive game and it has paid off. I especially love his zero hesitation when he jacks it up, even with a hand in his face. Nothing but confidence.
Avery Bradley 37.8%
He started off the season shooting a bonkers percentage, it has dropped off a little bit since, but it's still great considering he's averaging 5.5 3PA and the most minutes on the team at 35.6 minutes per game. Every time I listen to a broadcast from the opposing team, the announcers tend to mention he came into the league as a defensive player and has since become a reliable 3 point shooter. But the only time he averaged less than 35% from three (not counting his rookie season where he shot a total 5 threes) was when he came back from double shoulder surgery during the middle of the season. He's been a solid shooter for most of his tenure at Boston.
Isaiah Thomas 33.7%
Isaiah is the heart of the Boston offense. He has the highest usage rate by far and the highest 3PA at 6.5 so we can forgive him not shooting above 35%. This would be the lowest mark of his career, so let's hope he can improve on it as the season goes. What's curious is that he's shooting just 30% on catch-and-shoot threes, which are generally the most efficient 3 point shots. He's shooting better on pull-up threes, at 36.4%. Weird.
Jaylen Brown 33.3%
For a guy coming into the league that supposedly "can't shoot", 33% is a very respectable percentage. He's averaging 1.6 3PA and doesn't hesitate when shooting it, which is good. If he continues being unafraid, he should be able to develop a consistent 3 point shot. This is at least a good early sign.
Marcus Smart 30.6%
Oh Mahcus. You do so much for this team than just hitting threes. But as far as threes goes, he's doing alright. Currently this is an improvement of his atrocious 25.3% from last year, though it's not great in general. I felt like watching him he sometimes has to jack up threes at the end of the shot clock. I looked at the numbers and 14.4% of his threes are when the shot clock is running out. If you discount those, he's shooting... 32%. A liiiitle better, but not much. Though what's interesting is that he's shooting 35.3% on catch-and-shoot threes, which is pretty good efficiency. What's dragging his 3P% down are his pull-up threes. He's shooting 0% on pull up threes. Yup, that's 0/10. So Marcus, cut back on the pull-ups and keep knocking down those catch-and-shoots threes in the corner. As soon as he puts the ball on the floor his percentage goes from 35% to 0%.
Kelly Olynyk 30.3%
This is not up to Kelly's standard. He was the leading 3 point shooter last season, at 40.5% so this is a little disappointing. But at the same time, he's just coming back from a shoulder surgery and that's nothing to scoff at. We saw the same thing happen to Avery Bradley, as I previously mentioned, when he came back from shoulder surgery. The shoulder is so integral for a consistent shooting motion so I'm not too worried. He'll eventually find his groove. Also keep in mind that it's a small sample size of just 8 games and if he goes 3/3 next game, the percentage shoots up to 36.1%.
Gerald Green 29.2%
Gerald Green is currently leading the team in 3 point attempts per 36 minutes... with bad results. Dude jacks it up too much, he doesn't seem to grasp the ball-sharing system Stevens wants to cultivate. Green was brought in to be instant offense off the bench and to hit threes. He hangs his hat on having shot 40% from 3 one time in Phoenix, but it's not looking good for him so far. He's pretty much in the dog house right now, his minutes on the wing are currently going to Smart and Rozier with splashes of Jaylen Brown. Honestly I don't really care if he stays in the dog house, but let's also keep in mind we're working with really small sample size for Gerald. If he goes 3/3 next game, the percentage shoots up to 37%.
James Young 28.6%
'Member when James Young scored 12 points in a game and looked like an NBA player?. Yea I 'member.
Bonus:
Demetrius Jackson 100.0%
Submitted November 24, 2016 at 03:16PM by SpellStiemsmaRight