The Boston Celtics are changing the NBA with the three-pointer. Or "Mazzulla Ball," or whatever you want to label the barrage of threes Boston is unleashing nearly every game now.
On opening night, in a 132-109 win over the New York Knicks, and after their Banner 18 ceremony at TD Garden, Joe Mazzulla's Celtics tied the NBA's all-time record (29) for three-pointers in a single game. Boston's starters accounted for 26 of them.
The C's second unit shot just 3/20 from beyond the arc, but it didn't matter. History was made regardless.
What's concerning for a good number of the Association's franchises? A prominent and troubling trend further emerged during the one-sided beatdown.
Celtics spearheading NBA change with monster win vs. Knicks
Boston is shooting an overwhelmingly high number of shots from beyond the arc. And considering they just blew the doors off one of the Eastern Conference's top contenders and are the defending champions (and lost three games on their way to their latest title), they are setting the tone everyone else must follow.
Even during the preseason, Boston took 55% of their shot attempts from behind the three-point line.
Teams like the Portland Trail Blazers and Memphis Grizzlies don't have the personnel to compete from beyond the arc. The Knicks might've traded one of the players, Donte DiVincenzo, who could've bridged the gap. Even the Minnesota Timberwolves, who may have helped their chances with DiVincenzo, set themselves back by adding Julius Randle in the same deal.
Boston boasts five elite three-point shooters in their starting lineup, and that's without even accounting for Kristaps Porzingis, who will be sidelined until around Christmas. Few squads around the league have that same luxury, and it shows.
In the pace-and-space-filled modern NBA, elite facilitation is vital. Boston is so successful because they find their threes in rhythm. No other system produces as many good looks for everyone in the lineup.
Teams like the Indiana Pacers and Phoenix Suns generate those looks because one player, like Tyrese Haliburton or Devin Booker, forces double-teams.
What Mazzulla runs is organic. It's a plug-and-play system. It's pliable. And it's going to be the new standard soon. The 2014-15 Golden State Warriors and 2017-18 Houston Rockets were two of the first symbols of the Association's evolution. Now it's Mazzulla's Celtics.
Opening night was its grand unveiling, and it's fitting it happened along with Banner 18's.
