Can the Celtics find their groove from 3-point range again? The Raptors present a good opportunity for that to happen.
Why Raptors are perfect opponent for Celtics to reverse these trends originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Celtics have played mostly .500-level basketball over the last month with a 7-6 record in their last 13 games. It hasn’t hurt the C’s much in the standings — they’re still second in the Eastern Conference behind the Cleveland Cavaliers — but we haven’t seen this team play at a championship level on a consistent enough basis of late.
Wednesday night’s game against the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena represents a great opportunity for the Celtics to reverse some of the ugly trends in their recent performance, especially from the 3-point line.
The C’s have absolutely owned this matchup with a 15-2 record and an active 10-game win streak versus the Raptors since these teams met in the second-round of the 2020 playoffs inside the COVID-19 bubble.
You might remember the last time the Celtics and Raptors squared off. It was on New Year’s Eve in Boston and the C’s won by 54 points — the second-largest margin of victory in team history.
Wednesday’s matchup is in Toronto, where the Celtics have won four straight times with eight wins in their last nine games.
When the Celtics are at their best, they are taking and making a ton of 3-point shots. But in January, the Celtics are making less 3-pointers per game than any other month so far this season. The C’s are also taking fewer 3-pointers in January. Boston’s 43.7 3-point attempts per game this month is almost six fewer than its season average.
!function()“use strict”;window.addEventListener(“message”,(function(a)if(void 0!==a.data[“datawrapper-height”])var e=document.querySelectorAll(“iframe”);for(var t in a.data[“datawrapper-height”])for(var r=0;r<e.length;r++)if(e[r].contentWindow===a.source)var i=a.data[“datawrapper-height”][t]+”px”;e[r].style.height=i))();
The Raptors are a good team for the Celtics to re-establish their hot streak from beyond the arc.
Toronto is allowing opponents to shoot 37.1 percent from 3-point range, which is the seventh-highest rate in the league.
In two matchups this season, the Celtics have made an average of 21.5 3-pointers on 52 attempts for a 41.3 percentage. When the Celtics went 4-0 against the Raptors last season, they made an average of 16 3-pointers on 42 attempts per game for a 38.1 percentage.
So if there’s an opponent that presents a good chance for the Celtics to build some consistency and confidence from 3-point range, the Raptors are near the top of the list.
