Context:

The Boston Celtics' reliance on a high-variance, three-point shooting strategy has led to significant collapses in recent playoff games against the New York Knicks. Despite their historical success with this approach, the Celtics' recent performances have been marked by poor shooting percentages, with only 25% of their three-point attempts being successful in the first two games. This has resulted in two of the most significant losses in their playoff history, with a total of 75 missed three-pointers setting a new NBA Playoffs record. While the strategy has previously brought them victories, including an NBA title, their inability to adapt or improve their shooting consistency has left them vulnerable. For the Celtics to recover in the series, they must overcome their current shooting slump against a defensively strong Knicks team led by Mitchell Robinson.

Dive Deeper:

• The Boston Celtics have experienced two consecutive playoff losses against the New York Knicks due to their reliance on a high-volume three-point shooting strategy that failed to deliver results.

• In these games, the Celtics shot 15-for-60 and 10-for-40 from beyond the arc, respectively, resulting in a mere 25% success rate and setting a new NBA Playoffs record with 75 missed three-pointers.

• Despite their struggles, the Celtics' approach hinges on the mathematical advantage of three-point shots, which are worth more than two-point shots when successful.

• The team's historical proficiency in three-point shooting has been a cornerstone of their strategy, contributing to their past victories and their most recent NBA championship.

• The defensive prowess of the Knicks, particularly with Mitchell Robinson's rim protection, poses an additional challenge for the Celtics, who are accustomed to relying on outside shooting rather than driving to the basket.

• To remain competitive in the series, the Celtics need to find a way to improve their shooting accuracy and adapt their strategy to overcome the Knicks' defensive setup.

• The situation highlights the inherent risks of a high-variance strategy in basketball, where the outcome heavily depends on whether shots are made or missed.

• The Boston Celtics play high-variance basketball.

• Normally, their team full of world-class shooters makes the shots. And when a high volume of those shots is worth 3 points, it usually leads to lots of wins.

• But two games in a row, two crucial playoff games against the New York Knicks, Boston has found the low-end of that variance.

• Twice, it has led to epic collapses, two of the worst losses in the storied playoff history of the Celtics.

• And both times, Boston needed to make only one more 3-pointer on brutal shooting nights to escape with a win anyway.

• In Game 1, the Celtics shot 15-for-60 from 3. In Game 2, it was 10-for-40.

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• Hey, consistency: Both of those work out to 25 percent from deep.

• Their 75 missed 3-pointers across two games are by far an NBA Playoffs record, confirmed by ESPN during the broadcast.

• Fans may be upset that the Celtics keep shooting this much from outside, but it's how they got here. 

• To point out the obvious, 3s are worth more than 2s, if the 3s go in.

• Should the Celtics drive a bit more? Maybe, although the lanky Knicks with Mitchell Robinson protecting the rim are a tough interior battle for a team that's used to shooting from deep so much.

• The reality is that the Celtics simply need to make more shots.

• It's a make-or-miss league. The Celtics have been better than anyone at making the long-range shots at high volume over the past couple seasons. It's how they won the NBA title last year.

• But right now, they're missing, a lot. And that'll have to change for them to get back in this series.

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