Celtics-Bucks preview: A little more inside work

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MILWAUKEE – If there’s one thing we know about the Celtics that has held true most of this season, it is that they love to shoot the 3-ball.

Still, it seems after a franchise-record 46 3-point attempts in a 119-114 loss at Orlando on Jan. 31, the Celtics have made getting the ball inside – and keeping it there – a much bigger priority.

And it has been a recipe for success that the high-flying Celtics (31-22) hope to continue tonight against the struggling Milwaukee Bucks.

Boston comes in riding a four-game winning streak and with victories in nine of its past 10 games. Meanwhile, the Bucks (20-32) have lost five in a row.

For the Celtics, a key to their success of late has been their ability to establish a presence around the rim.

Since the Magic loss on Jan. 31, Boston has outscored its four opponents in the paint by 74 points, or 18.5 points per game.

The only team in that span that Boston didn’t outscore by double digits in the paint was the Sacramento Kings, a game whose final score – much like the final tally in points scored in the paint – wasn’t nearly as close as the final numbers suggest.

The Celtics have talked most of the season about the importance of inside-out action as a precursor to getting quality shots.

More often than not, this led to a ton of 3s being taken by the Celtics, who come into tonight’s game ranked seventh in the NBA in 3-point attempts at 27.0 per game.

In the four-game winning streak, Boston is averaging just 21 3-point attempts per game, which is the bottom-10 (23rd overall) in the NBA.

Even though they are taking fewer 3s, that doesn’t diminish the value that still exists for Boston being a team that can impact the game from 3-point range.

This season, Boston is shooting 33.6 percent on 3s, which ranks 26th in the league. In the four-game winning streak, they’re up to 35.7 percent shooting while coming in at 15th in the NBA in this span.

Figuring out the balance that has to exist between being a good, consistent team offensively is not easy.

But as of late, the Celtics are finding that cutting back on the number of 3-pointers taken is better positioning them to be successful in their continued climb up the Eastern Conference standings.

 

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