The storyline currently dominating the 2024-25 season doesn’t center around the reigning champion Boston Celtics and their quest to repeat. It doesn’t even feature the first-place Cleveland Cavaliers, who got off to one of the best starts in NBA history. Instead, talking heads and league officials are discussing 3-pointers and if they’ve become too common in today’s game.
The C’s are on pace to attempt the most 3-pointers in NBA history, as they average a league-leading 51.3 shots from beyond the arc per game. While some debate whether or not Boston (and a large share of other teams) is hurting the spectacle of basketball with too many triples, Celtics point guard Payton Pritchard wonders why his team is in the conversation, per Abby Chin of NBC Sports Boston.
“I feel like some teams should maybe not take as many threes but those teams should not be us,” he stated on Saturday afternoon. “We’re the best at doing it. Why would we change?”
Is Payton Pritchard right about the Celtics’ 3-point habits?
Through 27 games, the Celtics boast a 21-6 record and the most 3-point makes (18.8) per outing. Since the Green Team attempts so many deep shots, it makes sense that they have three players who rank in the top 10 for made triples.
Pritchard, who comes off the bench, leads the Celtics in that category. The Oregon native has hit the third-most triples in the NBA so far and his present total of 105 is already higher than his 3-point output in each of his first three seasons.
Boston has utilized Pritchard’s range and a healthy diet of 3-pointers to overwhelm opponents this season. However, this isn’t a new phenomenon. The Celtics attempted the most 3-pointers per game during the 2023-24 regular season before winning it all in June. The team they bested in the 2024 NBA Finals, the Dallas Mavericks, attempted the second-most 3-pointers per game that season.
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla has helped construct his squad’s 3-point revolution , building off a successful precedent set by dynastic Golden State Warriors rosters in the late 2010s and early 2020s.
A lot of the NBA is following suit, including the Chicago Bulls. Although no Bulls player sits in the top 10 for 3-point makes during the 2024-25 campaign, Chicago tries 44 triples per game. In fact, the Bulls are one of the few teams who managed to keep up with the Celtics’ 3-point barrage and emerge victorious.
On Thursday night, Chicago defeated Boston, 117-108, and won the 3-point battle. The Bulls cashed 19 triples on 52 attempts while the Celtics drained 14 triples on 56 attempts. Boston’s 42 misses from 3-point range tied a franchise record set 12 days earlier against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Mazzulla’s men will have an opportunity to atone for those mistakes on Saturday evening, as they face the Bulls for the second time in three days. The last time the C’s traveled to the Windy City, Pritchard torched the Bulls with a season-high 29 points amid a 138-129 road win. The Sixth Man of the Year candidate scored in double figures in seven of his next eight games and will look to do so again on Saturday.
