Boston Celtics and Triple as a condemnation in the playoffs

The TD Garden stopwatch that remains 8 minutes with 40 seconds for the end of the second party of the semifinals of the Eastern Conference of the NBA playoffs between Boston Celtics and New York Knicks. Jayson Tatum attends Payton Pritchard and the best sixth man of the season connects a triple that sets the score 84-68 in favor of the local team.

While the maximum advantage for men in green had been 20 points, this difference of 16 is reliable.

Triple of Pritchard is the tenth that converts the Celtics into 33 attempts so far. It will also be the last one, since the following 7 will then fail in an unfortunate game closure.

Pritchard himself twice, to Horford, Derrick White a couple of times, Tatum and Jaylen Brown try from long distance and do not succeed during that fateful period of Boston in which the Knicks star in a 23-6 streak to reverse the story and stay with 91-90 victory.

The triple, that offensive resource that guided Joe Mazzulla’s team to the title in the last campaign, today is a double -edged sword. The youngest coach to get a ring since 1970 exacerbated the strategy in the triple era. He moved the limit to the unthinkable. He took it to a point of no return. Blind confidence in the three -point shot can make it clash against the wall. And he decided to accelerate.

In the two defeats of this tie against the Knicks, which In both meetings they resurfaced from a disadvantage of 20 points, The Celtics turned to triple excessively: they tried 100 and succeeded only 25.

Boston is the first team in a postseason of the NBA that tries at least 40 triples into consecutive matches and converts 25% or less in both.

It is clear that with that aim from a long distance it is very difficult to win. It is also true that in both games they were very close, with a drop in supplementary and another for only 1 point and with constant leadership until they subtracted less than 2 minutes.

Boston does not hesitate to take every possibility to pull three. As in that offensive of the second quarter in which he launches one, two, three times until the Brown emboca. As in those seven attacks of the last period in which, although it fails and sees how New York approaches, it does not deviate from the plan.

It is the path that the Celtics toured to be seconds in the east in the regular phase with record figures in triples for the history of the NBA in attempts (3,955), conversions (1,457) and failures (2,498).

The two losses at home at the beginning of the east semifinals will make Boston change the course? It is unlikely to happen. He will win or lose in his law.

The triple records of the Celtics in the first game of the series

Both the 60 launch of three points attempted and the 45 failed by the Celtics in the initial defeat of the tie against the Knicks were record marks for the history of the NBA in a playoff match.

Boston threw many more triple (60) than doubles (37) in that fall in which he had a 20 -point advantage in the third quarter twice.

In the last quarter, the registration was for oblivion: 2 successes in 15 attempts. Three points.

A calamity.

Boston threw less, but the percentage did not improve in the second game

In front of the 60s of the first match, the second triple attempts of the second seemed few. In fact, they were less than those that Boston averaged in the regular season. The problem was the same as Monday: the poor 25% success.

In advantage or disadvantage, the sight was always crooked. Already in the first half they had become only 5 of 21. For the fifth game in these playoffs, the Celtics barely put 5 triples in the first half. The same number of times as in the 82 regular serial games.

The story did not improve. The fourth period was unfortunate again in this area, with 2 of 11, and the defeat hit hard. Very strong.

Boston will go to Madison Square Garden with the obligation to win at least one game so as not to end his campaign abruptly. He will try by pulling triples, that is the only certainty he has.

The triple will be the salvation of the Celtics. Or his conviction.