The Boston Celtics' reputation precedes them, it appears.
The Celtics have gone all-in on 3-point shooting under head coach Joe Mazzulla, attempting an NBA-leading 42.5 3s per game last season en route to an NBA championship. This season, they've leaned in even further, with a whopping 50.2 3-point attempts per game that is 6.3 attempts more than the next-closest team and would smash the NBA record for most 3-point attempts per game in one season (45.4 by the Houston Rockets in 2018-19) if it holds.
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So, when Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone was asked Monday how plans to prepare for Tuesday night's showdown with the Celtics (10 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Boston), his message essentially was this: Shooters gonna shoot.
“No matter what you do, they’re gonna get 50 3s up. I really believe that,” Malone told reporters, via the Denver Post. “Nineteen of their 50 3s they take are off the bounce. They’re shooting pull-up 3s in transition. They’re shooting pull-up 3s in pick-and-rolls. That is their thing offensively. ‘We’re gonna just put a lot of 3s up.'"
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In Malone's mind, the best chance to beat the Celtics isn't trying to limit their 3-point attempts. It's to make those attempts as difficult as possible and hope Boston misses more than it makes.
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"They shoot the same number of 3s in wins and losses. But their percentage is much different," Malone said. "Point being, they’re gonna get 50 up. That’s just how they’re wired. But it’s the quality of three they get up.
"You cannot be down the floor inside the 3-point line in transition. In pick-and-rolls, you cannot be down the floor and give (Jayson) Tatum, (Jaylen) Brown, (Payton) Pritchard, (Jrue) Holiday, and (Derrick) White easy walk-in 3s.”
To Malone's point, the Celtics' 3-point percentage plummets from 38.7 percent in wins to 31.4 percent in losses. Boston is 2-5 this season when shooting 30 percent or worse from distance -- including a brutal 19.6 percent 3-point showing in Sunday's defeat to the Oklahoma City Thunder -- and 24-5 in all other games.
In Denver's view, those numbers add up to a fairly straightforward game plan for Boston.
"You ain’t gonna be able to stop them from shooting them,” Nuggets guard Russell Westbrook added, via the Post. "But you’ve just gotta be able to make them difficult shots. That’s it. Make them difficult shots, and rebound the ball. And then do what we do.”
The Celtics are nearly impossible to beat when they're making 3-pointers and playing strong defense. But it's interesting to hear how an elite team like the Nuggets sees the blueprint to beating Boston: Contest their 3-pointers and hope for the best.
Celtics-Nuggets coverage on NBC Sports Boston begins at 9 p.m. ET with Celtics Pregame Live.
