These 3-point trends explain Celtics’ struggles in recent weeks

These 3-point trends explain Celtics’ struggles in recent weeks originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

On Dec. 15, the Boston Celtics improved to 21-5 with a 112-98 road win over the Washington Wizards. The C’s were flying high and sat just a half-game behind the Cleveland Cavaliers for first place in the NBA and Eastern Conference standings.

But since that victory in the nation’s capital, the Celtics have mostly played .500 basketball with a 7-6 record in their last 13 games. The Celtics are still in second place with a 28-11 record, but the gap between them and the Cavs has widened to 5.5 games.

What’s behind the Celtics’ recent slump? A lot of it can be explained by the 3-point line.

The Celtics started out red-hot from 3-point range, including an Opening Night blowout win over the New York Knicks where Boston tied a single-game league record with 29 3-pointers made.

The C’s shot 40.7 percent from beyond the arc over five October games. But in every subsequent month, Boston’s 3-point percentage and number of 3-pointers made per game have declined, and the largest nosedive has occurred this month.

The Celtics are shooting just 32.8 percent in six January games, the fifth-worst rate in the league. They made only 14 of their 85 3-point attempts over the last two games.

Celtics opponents are shooting 41.6 percent from 3-point range in January, which is the third-highest rate this month. Boston’s opponents have made more 3-pointers per game and their 3-point percentage has increased in each of the last three months.

Barring a dramatic turnaround, January likely will be the first month of the season in which the Celtics are making fewer 3-pointers and shooting a worse percentage on 3-pointers than their opponents.

Here’s a month-by-month breakdown:

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The Celtics’ decrease in 3-point percentage is not a surprise when you look at the individual stats.

If you take the Celtics eight-best players and compare their 3-point percentage this season versus last season, only one player — Payton Pritchard — has improved. Everyone else is shooting worse, including a steep dropoff by Jrue Holiday.

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The Celtics still lead the league in 3-point shots made (17.9) and attempted (49.4) per game, but they rank 15th in 3-point percentage (36.2).

How does that compare with their championship-winning campaign? Last year, the C’s led all teams with 16.5 3-pointers made per game and 42.5 attemps per game, and their 38.8 3-point percentage ranked No. 2 behind the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Celtics scored 120.6 points per game last season, and they’re at 118 points per game through 39 games this season. So even with a worse 3-point percentage, their overall scoring hasn’t decreased very much.

The Celtics have a lot of good shooters, and 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.

This strategy suits the roster Brad Stevens has built, and it played a pivotal factor in the Celtics winning Banner 18 last season. There’s no reason to deviate from that plan.