NBA Finals film study: When the Celtics attack, good things happen

With 3:50 minutes left in the third quarter of Game 3 of the NBA Finals, presented by YouTube TV, Jayson Tatum was heard on the Boston Celtics bench with a microphone during ABC’s “Sounds of the Game” segment.

“We’re getting good shots,” Tatum told his teammates. “But we can get even better shots. Don’t settle for the step-back three unless it’s late in the shooting cycle. That goes for all of us, (including) me. Every time we get going, we get a totally open three.”

The Celtics vacillated between heeding and ignoring Tatum’s words on Wednesday, a big reason they went from a 13-point deficit to a 21-point lead before that lead shrank to one point with less than four minutes left. But there was just enough offense for the Celtics to keep the Dallas Mavericks at bay and pull out a 106-99 victory that puts them one win away from the championship.

Here are some numbers and footage of how the Celtics got better shots after getting into the box.

1. Too much adjustment time in the first half

Important number: The Celtics made 4 of 16 (25%) three-point shots from the dribble in Game 3, but 13 of 30 (43.3%) from the catch.

At first, it seemed like the Celtics had forgotten how successful they were in Game 2, when they recorded 66 drives, eight more than in any other game this season. They were always able to overcome Dallas’ defenders (with Luka Doncic at the top of the list) by dribbling.

They also had good opponents in Game 3, but too often settled for step-back three-point shots (especially in the first half) instead of attacking the basket and creating better shots.

The Celtics’ first 3-point attempt of the game was a stepback, corner 3 by Jrue Holiday, not the worst shot they made, but it was contested by Daniel Gafford (who has been beaten off the dribble many times in this series) and there was plenty of time left on the shot clock.

Derrick White missed another three-pointer off the dribble on the next possession and the Celtics quickly trailed 9-2. After a timeout, they had a much better chance when Jaylen Brown pushed Kyrie Irving back, got help and kicked the ball out of the catch for a three-pointer from the corner by Al Horford.

But the stepback threes kept coming. Later in the first quarter, Dereck Lively II switched to Tatum, who isolated him on the right wing with plenty of time on the shot clock and no dribble. But instead of attacking and getting help, Tatum settled for a contested stepback that didn’t even come close to going in…

The Celtics had some really good offensive plays in the first half and also took advantage of some transition opportunities. But trailing by just one point at halftime, they weren’t nearly as relentless on offense as they had been three nights earlier.

2. Determined play at the beginning of the third quarter

Important number: The Celtics averaged 66 more passes (281-215), 11 more assists (26-15), and 3.3 more secondary assists (3.7-0.3) than the Mavs in the Finals.

The Celtics have generally been better before halftime (both in the regular season and the playoffs) than afterward. But on Wednesday, they came out of the locker room with much better intentions offensively. And they built their one-point deficit to seven points by scoring 16 points in their first seven possessions of the third quarter.

The first basket was another pull-up jumper from Brown, but he got both feet in the basket area. And on the next possession, Tatum made a quick swing pass so Holiday could attack Gafford’s close-out. He kicked it to White, who drove past another close-out and passed the ball to Holiday for a layup…

The next two baskets were also scored in the crease. Then Brown charged and kicked the ball to Tatum, who made a catch-and-shoot three-pointer. Then Tatum attacked Doncic and found Brown for another layup.

The Celtics had regained their attacking mentality and were able to build a lead of 21 points.

3. Good and bad sides

Important number: The Celtics have a 6-0 record in crucial playoff games and have scored 46.9 more points per 100 possessions than their opponents.

But they lost the thread again, scoring just two points in a 13-possession streak in the fourth quarter as their 21-point lead shrank to one. The second shot in that streak wasn’t a stepback three, but a one-on-one shot where Brown read Lively and decided to throw over the bar instead of attacking when Kyrie Irving was the only Mav in the box…

As mentioned above, the Celtics made 13 of 30 (43%) three-point shots after the catch in Game 3. But four of those misses came after some hesitation from Brown, so they made 13 of 26 (50%) when direct from the catch.

Brown later missed one of those step-back threes instead of attacking Doncic in isolation. As he got into the box, he lost the ball instead of simply passing it to Holiday, who also hit a (hasty) off-the-dribble three in that stretch.

After a timeout with 4:38 left, the Celtics finally got back into the box. Towards the end of the drought, which ended when Brown got a tip-in after a drive by Tatum, they managed a great corner-3 look for Horford.

Holiday then beat Tim Hardaway Jr. off the dribble and made an incredible pass to White for a catch-and-shoot three-pointer that gave the Celtics a sixth lead…

According to Second Spectrum, the Celtics scored 1.2 points per possession on Wednesday when a drive resulted in a game-ending outcome (shot, turnover or run to the line), their best such record in the Finals so far.

The Celtics have been the best team in the league all season and have clear matchup advantages in this series. Although they had stretches where they settled down too much, they still won a road game in which their opponent was almost as desperate for a win as a team can be.

If they continue to attack in Game 4 on Friday (8:30 a.m. ET, ABC), they become champions.

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John Schuhmann is a senior statistical analyst at NBA.com. You can email him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.

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