Celtics' New 3-Point Shooting Woes Are Cause for Concern

The Boston Celtics sit at No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Boston has recently gone through a 'mini-slump' splitting their last four games 2-2, while keeping up a mediocre 6-4 record in their last 10 contests.

The Celtics narrowly escaped the eight-win New Orleans Pelicans 119-120 on Sunday despite a Jayson Tatum eruption of 38 points and 11 rebounds.

Boston couldn't seem to contain the Pelicans' backcourt of Dejounte Murray and Trey Murphy III as the Bayou duo combined for 56 points.

Read more:Where Do Celtics Land in New NBA Power Rankings Following Mini Slump?

In that game, however, Boston only shot 29.5 percent from beyond the three-point line, which is uncharacteristic of the defending champions.

Unfortunately, that number is on-par with how they have been performing recently.

In the month of January, six games so far, Boston has the fifth-worst three point percentage in the NBA with 32.8 percent.

Last season, Boston was scoring 120.6 points per game, but this year the number is not that much lower at 118 points.

Read more: Celtics' Joe Mazzulla, Jayson Tatum Could be Downplaying Recent Struggles

Boston was making 16.5 three pointers in the 2023-24 regular season and ranked No. 2 in the league in three point percentage at 38.8 percent.

Head coach Joe Mazzulla spoke after the New Orleans victory on his team missing open shots and wondering if the recent shooting struggles could be a mental blockage with his squad.

"We have to have the mental toughness to continue to work through that and find ways to win without it."

Mazzulla also noted that it is "a beautiful place to be" knowing his 11-loss team is held to such a standard after subpar shooting stretches.

Morten Stig Jensen of Yahoo Sports predicts that the Celtics will not just stick to the championship-proven game plan, but double down on themselves.

"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."

Boston takes on the nine-win Toronto Raptors Wednesday as they head to Canada to find their 29th win of the season.