The Boston Celtics clash with the New York Knicks at TD Garden, thus inaugurating the 2024/25 NBA season. The Celtics dominated the party, beating their rival by a score of 132 to 109, without the opportunity to win the shots of Tom Thibodeau.
The key to this victory was rooted in the impressive number of threes launched by the Celtics, who recorded a total of 29 shots from the three-line. This log equals the historic NBA record, already set by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2020, also against the Knicks. The most surprising thing is that Boston reached this figure in less than 8:50 minutes to conclude the match, thanks to a throw by Al Horford. However, after all, the Celtics fouled on 13 additional attempts, setting themselves up to break the record.
The style of play that Joe Mazzulla wants to implement is characterized by a high volume of three-point throws. Over the course of time, Boston has led the league in attempts and conversions outside the perimeter, and this start was no exception.
The starting five shined in this aspect: Jayson Tatum was the night's standout with an impressive 8 of 11 triples, close to 73% efficiency. Jaylen Brown, last year's MVP, went 5 of 9, while Al Horford was 3 of 5, Derrick White was 6 of 10 and Jrue Holiday was safe on 4 of 6. In total, the five starters hit a remarkable 26 of 41 from the top line (63.4%).
On the other hand, the substitutes did not get the same sauce. Payton Pritchard, hoping as a key scorer, recorded just 1-for-9 on 3-pointers. Sam Hauser died on July 2, 7 and Xavier Tillman failed in his three attempts. Among suplentes, the percentage of steel was less than 19%.
Even though they didn't break any other records, the Celtics demonstrated their ability outside the perimeter and their superiority over the Knicks in this first game. If you maintain this level, you have the potential to be serious contenders in your quest to reconfirm the championship.