As the Boston Celtics reshape their roster, it’s inevitable for a change in scheme and playstyle to happen and I think it’s been a long time coming.

Ahead of the 2022-23 season when Joe Mazzulla was named the interim head coach, he started accelerating the importance of 3-point shooting. It eventually led to the Celtics leading the NBA in makes and attempts that season.

In the 2023-24 season, they continued shooting their way into winning a championship, leading the league again in both makes and attempts from behind the arc with 1,351 made of 3,482 attempts (16.5 made per game on 42.5 attempts).

In the 2024-25 season, the Celtics exploded multiple 3-point records with the most made (1,457), attempts (3,955), and the highest 3-point shooting percentage (53.8%).

Since Mazzulla’s takeover, the Celtics have made the NBA’s single season 3-point record in three consecutive years since 2022-23, according to ESPN:

• 2022-23: 1,315
• 2023-24: 1,351
• 2024-25: 1,364

A large part of their offensive scheme in this span has been the utilization of the big man to create pick-and-pop opportunities. In doing so, it’s created a legitimate shooter that opposing defenses had to account for, like they did with Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis.

After Boston parted ways with Horford and Porzingis last offseason, they eventually added Nikola Vucevic at the trade deadline. In theory, he’s another veteran big man that can shoot well from behind the arc.

For as great as a veteran as Vucevic is, it just didn’t end up working out in the end between him and Boston. He was eventually benched during the playoffs.

Now, heading into this season, the Celtics aren’t going to have centers that shoot from behind the arc. The top two centers are a combined 1-of-11 on 3-pointers in 13 years combined:

• Mitchell Robinson: never attempted a 3-pointer in eight years.
• Neemias Queta: 1-of-11 on 3-pointers in five years.

This leads me to believe that the offensive scheme will inevitably look a little different. Rather than the centers stepping back behind the arc, they’re going to be rolling to the hoop more often than not.

The third center on the roster, Luka Garza, showed last season that he can be a shooter if the team needs him to be. Garza had the best season of his career in his first year with Boston, averaging 8.1 points per game with 58/43/77 shooting splits. He also had 4.1 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game.

Although Garza played well last season, I’m unsure how much run he’s going to get at the five with Queta and the addition of Robinson. I think it’s more likely to see Garza slide over to the four (power forward) to get on the court more often than not.

That said, it’ll be easier said than done for Garza to play the four right now as Boston has an exorbitant amount of wings on the roster. He went from being the second string center to the third string, so finding a way to get him on the court might have to be strategic more than anything.

The way this is starting to look is exactly what GM Brad Stevens said he wanted during a press conference after the Celtics were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. He said he wants to see more opportunities at the rim and that they struggled to get them last year.

“I think the biggest thing is, can we generate looks at the rim? Yeah, everybody wants to do that, and every one of us would prefer a dunk over a 3. Every single one of us. Those are hard to get, and we struggle to generate them.”

Over the years, we’ve seen different iterations of Celtics teams thrive in high pick-and-roll sets with an over the top finish by the center. I think the Celtics are going to have to go back to their roots of rim running, which has worked well for them in the past.

This would eventually start to pull the defenders more inside, which opens up shooting opportunities from the perimeter.

This seems like the style of offense that Stevens wants and he’s going to get it with the way this roster is currently built.

Follow us on Twitter & Bluesky @CelticsFiles

Follow me on Twitter @Trombino20

Photo Credit: John Tlumacki, The Boston Globe, Getty Images