Celtics die by the 3-ball in Game 6, leading to tough choices for Game 7

MILWAUKEE -- The Celtics attempted 13 shots in the final six minutes of Game 6 against the Bucks. Nine of them came from 3-point range. Just one went in.

That cold streak opened the door for the Bucks to turn an 80-78 lead into a 97-86 win as the hosts closed out the game on a 17-8 run to force a Game 7 in Boston. It also led to a challenging question for Brad Stevens to answer with the season on the line Saturday night: Does he want to continue living and dying by the jump shot?

At first glance, the high volume of 3-point attempts would appear to be a worrisome issue. Why would the Celtics take so many shots from downtown in the closing minutes of a two-point game? The answer lies in the past two visits to Milwaukee.

Stevens has seen enough of his team getting denied at the rim all series long (Bucks blocked 28 shots in Games 3 and 4) to the point he emphasized a key adjustment: Keep driving and kicking the ball and avoid challenging the Bucks in the paint. In Game 6, it led Boston to avoid blocks (only three by Milwaukee) but also caused them to shoot their way out of the game.

“We got 14 shots blocked a game at the rim in Games 3 and 4. So, they’re all coming into the paint,” Stevens explained. “You gotta take the next-best shot. We’d like to get layups, but they are converging and they are doing a great job of converging. We have to do a better job of creating good opportunities and either drive at the second closeout or get better looks from 3. More of the two. But it’s just part of what they’re taking away and they’re doing a really good job. Their defense has been great.”

Relying on the 3-ball is not an ideal strategy, but Stevens’ options are limited when he’s down a pair of All-Stars and the Bucks have length throughout their frontcourt in Thon Maker and Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Celtics have been a subpar team shooting at the rim all year long and in this series (56 percent). The midrange shot is the most inefficient shot in basketball, so the main alternative is letting it fly from deep.

When the 3-point attempts aren’t falling, though, it can lead to trouble. The C’s shot 27.8 percent from deep (10-of-36) as five different players fired with purpose by taking four or more shots from downtown. After the game, they didn’t question those attempts.

“I think we got good looks,” Marcus Morris said. “We just didn’t make the ones that really mattered. I think we got really good looks. I think the ball moved really well. We went through a couple stints where it kind of got a little stagnant. But for the most part, I thought we moved it.”

The problem with Morris’ assessment is that it’s hard to qualify the Celtics’ looks as good ones based on where they were coming from on the floor. Thirty-three of Boston’s 36 3-point attempts came from above the break (non-corners) and that’s a spot on the floor where teams are shooting just 34 percent this postseason. The C’s are hitting 33 percent of those attempts and that’s a low enough number to make it a questionable shot selection when it’s not uncontested and there were plenty of those on Thursday night.

The Bucks deserve some credit for this adjustment. They are still crashing the paint hard on drives but they’re also pushing the Celtics away from the corners and into the longer attempts.

“They definitely had to do a lot with the shooting that we have,” Al Horford admitted. “They've been playing pretty good defense. Their length and how they play have given us problems. Credit to them. They play really well at home. They defended their home court like they were supposed to do. By Game 4 and 6, we played much better, but it was just at times. We need to be a little bit more consistent as a group. That's the challenge for us on Saturday.”

“We missed open shots,” Jaylen Brown added. “I don’t think anybody shot the ball well. They made it tough on us, but shots we didn’t make usually fall.”

With the margin of error reduced for Game 7, Stevens will need to consider tweaks, especially when two of his top seven rotation players now are subpar 3-point shooters in Marcus Smart and Semi Ojeleye. The 3s will still be a big part of the gameplan but there needs to be a more concerted effort of getting Horford involved (zero fourth-quarter shots). Passing up potential layups for contested 3s has to be eliminated as well. Taking 50 percent more 3s than shots at the rim is not a recipe for success unless you have a roster full of pure shooters like the Warriors.

Everyone’s averages should get a bit of a boost in the friendly confines of the TD Garden, but after a 32 percent outing in Game 5 from downtown, that’s no guarantee either. The Celtics need to find a better balance in Game 7 or else their season could be coming to an end.