By james art 
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Celtics
“That’s what makes them special and great.”
Kyrie Irving faced his former team, the Celtics, again on Saturday. Sam Hode/Getty Images
The Celtics’ approach to 3-point shooting has been the subject of much debate over the past few seasons, but one of their former stars has sided with coach Joe Mazzula’s philosophy.
Kyrie Irving likes Boston’s style of play, believing it gets the most out of its players on offense.
“I like math because there’s no emotion in it,” Irving told reporters after the Celtics beat his Mavericks on Saturday, via Brian Robb of MassLive . “Outside of JT (Jayson Tatum) and JB (Jaylon Brown), when those other guys do things like D-White (Derrick White) and Jrue Holiday, that makes them special and great.
“Everyone is criticizing them based on their season this year, but if you look at their first 42 games, it’s pretty similar compared to last year. Maybe two years off. It’s a well-coached basketball team.”
The Celtics’ approach to 3-point shooting certainly helped them in their title quest last year. They led the league in 3-point attempts and were second in 3-point efficiency, which helped them hold the league’s highest offensive rating. Boston’s 3-point shooting remained high volume and efficient through the first two rounds of the postseason as well.
However, in its Finals win over Dallas, Boston struggled somewhat from deep, making just 33.8 percent of its 3-point attempts (down from 38.8 percent in the regular season). The Celtics won the Finals with relative ease, but thanks to their defensive efforts, defeating the Mavericks in five games.
The Celtics have increased their 3-point shooting by one notch this season. They are making 6.5 more 3-pointers per game this season (49) than last year (42). That approach helped them start the season 21-5, often beating their opponents in striking fashion.
But their 3-point shooting has dipped a bit lately, causing their record to drop. They’re shooting just 35.2 percent from deep since Dec. 19, which is the 24th-best mark in the league, but they’ve still averaged the most 3-pointers in the league during that time. As a result, Boston is 11-9 in its last 20 games.
The majority of Celtics 3-point attempts were considered “open” or “wide open” by NBA.com’s tracking data during that time. They’re shooting just 32.3 percent on open threes over their last 20 games, down from 37.9 percent over their first 26 games.
White was among a handful of Celtics who have seen a dip in 3-point shooting recently. After making 40.1 percent of his threes in the Celtics’ first 26 games of the season, White had made just 32 percent of his threes in Boston’s previous 19 games before Saturday.
However, the Celtics guard was able to get back on track in their 122-107 win over the Mavericks. White scored 23 points on 7-of-16 shooting from the field and 4-of-10 from distance. Holiday also added 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting (5-of-10 from deep) as he struggled with his deep shot all season (34.9 percent from 3-point range before Saturday’s game).
With White and Holiday making their shots, Boston showed its championship ceiling on Saturday. With the Celtics hoping this performance can get them back on track, Irving was asked if his former team was simply on a different level than his Mavericks team, which was without Luka Doncic in Saturday’s game.
“They lost a couple of games and Joe Mazzula came into them [expletive] a little bit and you get the result you got tonight,” Irving said. “Going against us, playing with enthusiasm, playing with confidence and taking care of the ball.
“They made adjustments and that’s what great teams do, especially when they’re league champions. They handled our pressure, adjusted to our zone coverage, started getting open shots, and from there the game was pretty easy.”