It’s been an intense four-game road trip for the Boston Celtics.
With matchups against Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves, Ime Udoka and the Houston Rockets and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder, the C’s have been tested to begin 2025. Still, it’s not over yet. Boston has one final trip in Tuesday night’s battle with three-time MVP Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets.
Seeded fourth in the Western Conference, the Nuggets intend to be mindful of what challenges the reigning champion Celtics could present.
“No matter what you do, they’re gonna get 50 threes up. I really believe that,” Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said Monday, per Bennett Durando of The Daily Camera. “Nineteen of their 50 threes they take are off the bounce. They’re shooting pull-up threes in transition. They’re shooting pull-up threes in pick-and-rolls. That is their thing offensively. ‘We’re gonna just put a lot of threes up.'”
Malone added: “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 threes.”
Lately, the Celtics haven’t replicated their trademark Mazzulla-ball success, which made them the best of the best offensively, just a season ago.
Boston opened its title defense run with a strong 5-1 start that placed the team second in the league in 3-point shooting (40.7%). Since then, however, Mazzulla-ball has taken a hit. The Celtics currently rank 14th in 3-point percentage (36.7%) while also leading the league in attempts (50.2) and makes (18.4). That formula, so far, just hasn’t carried over and placed Boston in a routinely dominant state.
The 3-point-chucking, while a staple of the team’s identity, has been costly at times throughout the team’s 26-10 start.
Boston has shot just 35.2% from Mazzulla’s happy place throughout the road trip, ranking 20th in the league in percentage, third in makes (16.2) and first in attempts (47.3). The flip side is the Celtics have also ranked 26th in points (106.3), only ahead of the Rockets, Charlotte Hornets, Brooklyn Nets and Orlando Magic.
Will that prompt the Nuggets to take a step back, knowing that the Celtics just haven’t been the Celtics? No, not exactly.
“You ain’t gonna be able to stop them from shooting them,” Russell Westbrook said, per Durando. “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.”
Denver has garnered a reputation for being the most disciplined team in the league, and for good reason. Regardless of how hot or cold Boston has shot the ball, the Nuggets are preparing for the Celtics to show their very best.
Boston made a combined 38-of-108 (35.1%) total 3-pointers during its two-game preseason duel against Denver in Abu Dhabi, including 60 attempts in the first matchup.
The potential preview for June’s 2025 NBA Finals is set for 10 p.m. ET at Ball Arena.
