NBA Notebook: Celtics and Jazz show modern split on mid-range shot

The Jazz took 10 fewer shots than the Celtics on Friday. They made fewer field goals overall and still somehow won the game by seven, 137-130. 

A clash of styles favored Utah, as the Jazz buried a historic 27 threes at a 52.9% rate that drove an inevitable victory. It's nearly impossible to overcome that kind of shooting, but the different paths that led two teams playing at their best offensively to their final scores wasn't defensive pressure. Turnovers mattered early, then disappeared late. It wasn't free throws. The Jazz, in victory, attempted 0 mid-rangers.

That's become an emblematic attribute of Utah's offense -- taking 51 three-pointers and 30 shots around the paint Friday. With shooters like Mike Conley, Donovan Mitchell, Joe Ingles and Bojan Bogdanovic, Quin Snyder's team focuses on the pick-and-roll with Rudy Gobert, finding cutters and bending the defense to create open three-point looks. The Celtics approached the game the opposite way, taking 14 two-pointers from the elbow, baseline and wing areas at a 57.1% clip. To Ime Udoka, who's flexible in allowing the sins of mid-range and post-ups, a good shot is a good shot. 

"The league in general is somewhat of a copycat league and guys want to play like Golden State," Udoka said on Friday. "I was on a team in San Antonio for years where we were No. 1 in mid-range and you've got guys like LaMarcus Aldridge, Tim Duncan, Kawhi Leonard, high-level mid range shooters. You're not going to take that shot away from them. Then I was doing the same thing last year in Brooklyn, Kevin Durant and Kyrie (Irving) are two of the top-five in the league." 

Snyder, an indirect Gregg Popovich disciple via Mike Budenholzer in Atlanta, took a different approach upon becoming head coach, as they formulated an offensive system that Mitchell noted practically runs on its own on Friday. The Jazz take only 4.7 mid-rangers per game, last in the NBA (their one that qualified against the Celtics came from just behind the right block). They took 19.1 per game in Snyder's first season as head coach (25th), slowly reducing that number each year until they reached 30th in basketball last year with 6.1. This season, 

It's not due to minimizing the importance of that shot though, and more about the Jazz emphasizing the amount of threes they attempt. Utah wants to find quality threes, due to the obvious mathematical implications, but Snyder still believes in the mid-range shot for late-clock situations or when the defense is effectively taking away the three, which Boston wasn't. Mitchell passed up a short fallaway shot with nine seconds on the shot clock, ahead by two, instead kicking to the perimeter where another pass found Conley for the game-icer.

"There’s this narrative that people don’t want the midrange ... you need the ability to score at all three levels," Snyder said in November. "Because on any given night, teams are going to game plan to take something away, so it’s important to have that versatility.”

That shows in Mitchell's 50% mark there on 48 attempts this year. 

Durant -- one of the league's best in-between shooters -- took to Twitter in defense of the shot in 2019 against the NBA writer Matt Moore. Moore touted the points per possession boost threes provide versus mediocre mid-range shooting. Durant argued players would be better at the shot if they worked on it, instead of maintaining an absolute focus on threes and layups. Moore showed data taking more of those shots hardly impacts percentages. 

Then, Durant famously quipped, "Who the f*** wants to look at graphs while having a hoop convo?" 

(Seriously, for all of Durant's online grouchiness, the fact that one of the greatest players ever just talks shop on the Twitter feed about the game accessibly is something we'll appreciate years from now)

Aesthetics and personnel come into play, but math and probabilities lean against the once-beloved shot players like Michael Jordan (who doesn't tweet) mastered before the explosion of the three. Elite shooters like Durant tend to be able to comfortably bury 15-20 footers like they do triples. Still, even Durant, who shoots an unmatched 55.7% at high volume this season, only generates 1.11 points per mid-range shot, compared to 1.16 (at 38.5%) on a three-pointer. Aldridge (59% MR) and Durant lead a Nets team averaging a league-best 50.2% from the middle ground, while taking the fifth-most shots per game there. 

The Celtics present a more complicated case. Brad Stevens, their former coach, preached threes-and-layups. Like Snyder, it took several years until Stevens reduced Boston's mid-rangers per game to the bottom-five of the league in 2016-17 (14.2), from ranking sixth in 2013-14 (26.1). 

“He just wants us to try to eliminate the foot-on-the-line twos or long twos,” Avery Bradley said in 2015. 

Under Udoka, they now attempt 13.5 mid-rangers per game (12th) and finish 39.7% (19th) of the once-forbidden shots, up from 11.7 attempts and down from 40.5% FG. Jayson Tatum previously battled a reliance on that shot, which sunk his sophomore 2018-19 campaign, where he attempted 26.7% of his shots from there. This year marks his highest share since, 21.9% of his shots coming from the in-between area.

Tatum's drives per game fall in line with last season and he's shooting more threes, signaling extra shots being settled from mid-range over passing, staying downhill, or finding quality threes. If Durant's percentages make the two and three a close battle, yet still point toward three, Tatum's, 0.792 points per mid-ranger (at 39.7%) versus 0.933 points per three (at 31.1%) is a no-contest. Even as Tatum struggles from outside.

"If it's your shot and it's a good shot, you take it," Udoka said. "But at the same time, you're trying to get to the basket, obviously get fouls and I think that's where our offense has improved over the last 10 games is really getting downhill, getting to the basket and getting to the free throw line. It's a balance there, as well as hunting open threes, which we do as well, but if it's in a guy's wheelhouse and personnel dictates that, I don't think you take the mid-range shot away." 

Tatum's career average from mid-range sits at 39.2%, so while he gets off to his worst career start from the field, he's shooting in line with his expectations on longer twos. Other Celtics, like Dennis Schröder (37%) and Al Horford (40%), have followed and taken at least one per game. Josh Richardson (58.6%) rode the mid-range to a successful start. On a Celtics team also struggling from three, Richardson stepped inside the arc find his baskets, a credit to Udoka's flexibility. They'll take them at any point in the shot clock. Though you can just see how difficult the shots look. 

They haven't buoyed an offense ranking 23rd in efficiency (106.6) and 24th in eFG% (50.5), even after its best night yet in Utah. Udoka's predicament is that points haven't come cleanly from anywhere, save for Robert Williams III lobs and Grant Williams threes, both of which are happening in low volumes. That's where off-ball cutting and ball movement can replace Tatum's long two-pointers. 

"I guess it's just personnel," Tatum said. "You got guys who work on that and they're comfortable and that's part of their game. I think that's the simple answer, because certain teams play to their personnel." 

When I interviewed mid-range legend Carmelo Anthony in 2020, the shot he made his money on seemed to be falling out of favor, declining from over 35% of NBA shot attempts during his rookie year to less than 20% in 2018. Still, Anthony stood adamantly in the Portland locker room after almost going extinct as an NBA player himself, calling mid-rangers very, very important. As defenses tighten, key in on tendencies in the postseason, they'll force teams to do other things, he told me. 

It's no mistake Chris Paul's Suns (17.8) rode the second-most attempts in the 2021 playoffs to the Finals. Milwaukee (14.1) didn't fall far behind, even as a team that favors threes. Both increased the amount they took each game over the regular season. Utah didn't, and shot 35.5% on those that they did take, losing in round two to Paul George and Leonard, practically the elbow jumper brothers. 

Demar DeRozan leads basketball this season, shooting nearly eight mid-rangers each game at a 47.3% clip driving a top-tier offense on his way into MVP conversations. Toronto and San Antonio built playoff teams around his two-pointer. Devin Booker ranks fifth in attempts, helping lead the scorching Suns. Tyler Herro, Bradley Beal and Trae Young thrive in-between and power upper-echelon offenses. It's possible to make the two your identity, but difficult enough for it to be improbable outside of the few who do it at an excellent level. Like inside the casino, you're fighting odds. 

Others like Dejounte Murray, Anthony Davis and Tatum oversee stalling offenses while shooting high volumes of twos. Meanwhile, in Toronto, high marks from Fred VanVleet (55.6%), Gary Trent Jr. (49.3%) and Pascal Siakam (48.6%) helped the Raptors boast a 13th-ranked offense, keeping them in the playoff race while their defense sinks.

The Warriors, as they have since their dynasty began, largely eliminate the shot from their arsenal in favor of triples, though they still take nearly twice as many as Utah each night.

"We were aware of how they play. They shoot all threes, they get to the basket, they didn't shoot mid-range, that was their thing," Horford said. "We knew that and still, they were very efficient in how they play. With us, it's different. We have guys that we can do both. We feel comfortable shooting mid-range, we feel comfortable shooting threes and that's just kind of how we go about it. That's the identity of our group and how we want to play." 

Here's what else happened in the NBA this week...

Atlanta (12-11): Offense stalled in losses to New York and Philadelphia this week as they spin the .500 cycle alongside teams like Cleveland and Boston. Young continued his double-double spree with a pair of 10-assist games. He ranks third in assists behind Paul and James Harden. They miss De'Andre Hunter (wrist) more as they shuffled Cam Reddish (wrist) and Bogdan Bogdanovic (out two weeks) out of the lineup with injuries. Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot and Danillo Gallinari (missed Friday's game-winner) fill in for now.

Boston (12-11): Stuffed in the middle of the east and hoping their defense can become their edge in the play-in race. Forced turnovers early and even scored late in an impressive close loss at Utah. Tatum's immense struggles have defined their season, and they have to hope Jaylen Brown's nagging right hamstring strain, that's persisted for one month now, won't be the next big story. He exited the lineup after a five-game return where he repeatedly grabbed at the muscle. 

By the way, you read that right. Horford posted 21-6-9-1-1 at Utah after shutting down Joel Embiid in Wednesday's rock fight win over Philadelphia. Comeback player of the year. There's enough of an identity here to hold out hope for an acceptable season. A grueling December schedule awaits. 

Brooklyn (16-9): They've kept Kyrie Irving on the phone and with the Omicron variant appearing in New York, the star reportedly no closer to getting vaccinated and little indication the law will change in NYC, it's becoming increasingly likely they'll charge ahead without him all season. With Durant playing at an MVP level, Harden a mixed bag through 20 games, threes falling and Aldridge's return lightening the blow of Blake Griffin's decline, they'll remain in play for the east finals. They're far from the Finals lock Irving once seemed to make them though. 

Charlotte (13-11): The NBA website highlight LaMelo Ball's MVP case this week. Yes, NBA MVP. Beyond the bait, Ball ranked in the top-15 of the ladder, still a remarkable feat for a 20-year-old. Derrick Rose became the league's youngest MVP at 22 and the parallels are fun. At 22, Rose averaged 25.1 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 7.7 APG and 1.0 SPG on 44.5% FG. Ball's posting 20 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 8.3 APG and 1.9 SPG on 41.8% FG, with a 39.1% mark from deep. He's closer than you think and maintaining Charlotte among the top offenses and upper-echelon east teams.

Terry Rozier and Ball entered COVID protocol on Saturday. 

Chicago (15-8): Lost a second-round pick following the NBA's investigation into tampering in acquiring Lonzo Ball. That'll teach them. I'm sure they would've sent that pick to secure the guard, now averaging 12.3 PPG and gluing together Chicago's talented scorers as a secondary passer. He's also shooting 42.9% from three, the best volume marksman from deep in basketball. They're a legitimate east contender the way DeRozan is playing. Poor Pelicans. 

Cleveland (13-10): Not sliding as expected following Collin Sexton's injury. Their defensive identity remained through blowout wins over the Mavericks, Heat and Wizards during a statement week for a team seeking its first playoff berth since LeBron James left again. Jarrett Allen averaged 25 PPG and 12.7 RPG this week, Kevin Love emerged with 64.3% three-point shooting and Darius Garland dished 8.7 APG. They also posted a 98.3 defensive rating this week. Their tests continue with the Jazz, Bucks, Bulls and Wolves this week. 

Dallas (11-10): They've been a losing team more than a winning one when Luka Doncic plays. It's still a small sample, but his scoring, assists, shooting from every level and free throw attempts remain down across the vaunted 20-game mark. Slow starts haven't necessarily been a pattern in his career, and Kristaps Porzingis is dealing with knee pain again after some promising moments early this season. Does this become the Ben Simmons team eventually? They do need defensive help. 

Denver (10-11): Gut punch became evisceration with Michael Porter Jr. likely done for the year with back surgery, his third at 23-years-old, as he enters a five-year contract extension. Jamal Murray hasn't returned to basketball activities. Bol Bol, Austin Rivers and Bones Hyland entered COVID protocol and P.J. Dozier tore his ACL last week. It's now Nikola Jokic, all alone in the midst of another MVP-level season, starting alongside Aaron Gordon, Monté Morris, Jeff Green and Will Barton. This is certainly a MVP case booster if Denver wins under Jokic. 

Detroit (4-18): Cade Cunningham's becoming more of a must-watch player, with his silky smooth three-point stroke converting at a 52.4% rate this week, as he averaged 20 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 2.7 APG and 1.7 BPG. His 5.3 TO/G remain a messy figure and a reason Detroit's lost eight straight games. Jerami Grant got back on his feet Thursday for 34 points that gave the streaking Suns a run. Hopefully Dwane Casey doesn't take the fall here for a horrid start, given the roster, the Pistons' trajectory and expectations. There isn't much to win with here yet. 

Golden State (19-3): Every bit the contender the Suns are, and showed it in a vengeful 118-96 blowout over Phoenix on Friday. The Suns took it to Golden State, 104-96, earlier in the week in a playoff-like week for the west's top two. More regular season mini-series please! 

For the Warriors, Deandre Ayton challenged their size and wing defenders pestered their offense. Booker (hamstring) not playing took a little out of Golden State's bounce-back win, but double-figure games from Gary Payton II and Juan Toscano-Anderson, who had a dunk of the year candidate, flashed the talent on this roster beyond Steph Curry's MVP heroics. 

Houston (6-16): Struggling to find a single win two weeks ago and now 4.5 games back of the play-in tournament in the now-rough west. They raced the Hornets to 146 in an overtime victory, topped the Bulls then took care of business against the Thunder and Magic to carve out a five-game win streak. Moving Christian Wood to center as the lone big sparked him on an 18.6 PPG, 12.2 RPG tear while shooting 47.4% from three. Former Celtic training camp invitee Garrison Mathews brought his 46.3% shooting from deep to the table, alongside Eric Gordon's shot, while Jalen Green sits with a hamstring strain with no return in sight. Could John Wall join the party?

Indiana (9-16): Losing to everyone and inspiring little hope. They drew home boos while the Heat beat them handily, 113-104, without Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. T.J. McConnell is out indefinitely with a wrist injury. Chris Duarte continues to shoulder a large load admirably, but is hitting a frustrating wall with the officials, failing to draw fouls to close back-to-back one-possession losses on physical plays. Indiana is stunningly a narrow net positive (+0.3) for those reasons, missed opportunities. Worse, T.J. Warren isn't coming back anytime soon. 

"I don't know how to answer that question," Duarte said of the disappointment of the Miami loss. "I'm sorry." 

Clippers (12-11): Broke a three-game losing streak led by Marcus Morris and George's near triple double over the Lakers. Serge Ibaka is playing more minutes, Eric Bledsoe fewer, as Ty Lue fine-tuned his rotation in playoff-like fashion. He even drew some praise from Anthony Davis. 

Lakers (12-12): LeBron's COVID-19 saga, testing positive, then returning after a flurry of follow-up tests, is less interesting than how unremarkable this team is. Healthy or not, Davis is statistically the worst shooter in basketball right now. Russell Westbrook is playing better to little effect as James posts his usual production. That big three has yielded little fruit together against a variety of opponents, and while patience should remain a virtue for a championship duo flanked by a late-season bloomer in Westbrook, this roster isn't impressive around them either. Avery Bradley and DeAndre Jordan start at times. Kendrick Nunn hasn't emerged. Talen Horton-Tucker can't shoot. Dwight Howard got benched. Malik Monk is a fine contributor, but that's it? And they have no flexibility. 

Memphis (12-10): Scored the biggest win in NBA history without Ja Morant, by 73 points while leading by as many as 78 late over a undermanned Thunder team, topping the previous record of 68 (Cavs over Heat in 1991). Jaren Jackson Jr. continued to wake up, posting 27 points and a pair of blocks. De'Anthony Melton shot 8-for-10 and nine Grizzlies reached double-figures. Morant is expected to miss a few weeks after spraining his knee in a scary-looking injury last week. 

Miami (14-9): They're the revolving door lineup many expected. Kyle Lowry adds another hand to that dynamic, for the cost of a second-round pick for potential tampering, joining Herro and Robinson to top Indiana on Friday. Adebayo will miss six weeks with thumb surgery, a mild concern for a team lacking center depth ahead of two meetings with the Bucks this week. Butler is missing time with a tail bone injury. Markieff Morris (neck) hasn't played since the Jokic shove. 

Milwaukee (14-9): Signed Wes Matthews and Demarcus Cousins amid concerns about Brook Lopez' back condition. Lopez underwent back surgery last week. Milwaukee hopes he'll be able to play again later this season. In the meantime, it means extra minutes inside for Giannis Antetokounmpo and more Grayson Allen. They may need a deadline deal, but don't have a ton to give up. Fortunately, the buyout market favors the champs. In the meantime, they've won eight of their last nine after a loss to Toronto on Thursday. 

Minnesota (11-12): Karl-Anthony Towns avoided a back injury it appears, but even with him active this year they haven't been able to escape a .500 slog and separate themselves at the weak bottom of the west. The play-in tournament should be a lock for this group, with Anthony Edwards emerging and other talented scorers by his side, along with wing defenders. Patrick Beverley, D'Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt, Edwards and Towns topped the leagues lineups at +48.3 points per 100 possessions over 90 minutes. Other lineups have fared more neutral, or negative as Beverley battles an array of injuries. They're flashing potential. They need to realize it. 

New Orleans (7-18): The original play-in tournament, in part, aimed to help Zion Williamson make the playoffs in the Bubble. He still hasn't made it, but as he inches toward a return, the Pelicans are improving behind Brandon Ingram's return and staying in the race. They've won four of their last six. Soreness will further delay Zion's recovery after getting cleared for basketball activities last week.

New York (11-11): Benched Kemba Walker as Tom Thibodeau enacts needed rotational changes after Walker and Evan Fournier formed the league's worst starting back court. Alec Burks entered at point guard to mixed results, as the defense continued to slide in losses to Brooklyn and Chicago. Julius Randle's regression at that end has hurt, as he turns the ball over and fouls rampantly. Nerlens Noel can't stay in the lineup. This isn't the fun playoff team from last year, or even from that high-flying group from the Knicks' opening night win over Boston. 

Oklahoma City (6-16): A 73-point loss is ridiculous, even with Josh Giddey and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sitting. It puts a franchise lacking serious direction into focus, with a few promising prospects, but overall a bleak avalanche of losing as they slide from some early-season successes. They have mountains of draft picks, but with lottery reform and tanking this profound there doesn't appear to be much culture or habit-building able to happen. 

Even if they win the lottery this year, they need to find the right prospect and integrate him into a team that loses like this. It's embarrassing for a group Chris Paul led to legitimate competitiveness two years ago, before they sent him to Phoenix in a trade that makes you wonder: could OKC have been Phoenix? 

Orlando (5-19): Mo Bamba's preseason success against the Celtics wasn't a fluke. The big man posted 11.7 PPG, 9.7 RPG and 3.7 BPG while hitting four three-pointers this week. Orlando is now likely to keep him around in a crowded front court, as he's passing tests at 23 that maintain the intrigue the uber-long center carried to the 2018 draft. 

Philadelphia (12-11): Embiid didn't look right through a horrid performance in Boston as he continues his return from COVID-19. He bounced back with 28 points and 12 rebounds in a win over the Hawks on Friday. Seth Curry continues to flourish. Georges Niang is stepping up from a helpful bench role to provide some supplementary scoring, as Tyrese Maxey hits a wall following a strong start. They're not an incredibly deep team without Ben Simmons, so a flu case for Tobias Harris could potentially hurt them despite his play not being outstanding lately. 

“I literally don‘t even talk about (Simmons)," Doc Rivers said in Boston Wednesday. "I coach the team and the guys that I can see every day,” he said. “I let Daryl (Morey) and Elton (Brand) deal with all of the other stuff.”

Phoenix (19-4): A franchise-best 18 game win streak ended in San Francisco, after the Suns won the night prior in Detroit. Booker is banged-up, but Paul is flinging passes like Magic at 36 and Ayton seems to be realizing the outsized advantage his size, athleticism and strength alongside skill can inflict on a smaller like and competitors like Golden State. Mikal Bridges dislocated his pinkie and could potentially miss his first NBA game. He did avoid a fracture, though, which should spare him serious time missed.

Portland (11-12): A limping franchise fired GM Neil Olshey after an independent investigation into his workplace, citing a violation of the code of conduct. The Blazers will not release the investigation, and will begin a search for an executive who'll inevitably address Damian Lillard's future, as Olshey stood completely committed to the core. Marc Eversley, Scott Perry, Tayshaun Prince and Brent Barry could all potentially be candidates for the open job, with Danny Ainge chatter simply speculation at this point. As of Wednesday, Ainge was in the Bahamas, according to Doc Rivers. 

Sacramento (9-14): Winning enough west games to stay in the hunt. De'Aaron Fox is among the league's worst shooters and Alvin Gentry's entry to a new interim job has been rocky. Beat the Clippers at Staples behind Terence Davis and Davion Mitchell 20-point games after Lakers fans invaded Sacramento and set off Kings players and coaches after a 25-point loss. 

San Antonio (7-13): Have won three straight, starting with their 15-0 turnaround against Boston in the final three minutes of that game. Dejounte Murray is averaging 18.5 PPG, 8.5 RPG and 10.5 APG during the streak, including wins over Washington and Portland. He should garner some all-star attention, while Thad Young sits out of sight following the offseason DeRozan sign-and-trade. He's likely the first significant trade or buyout target for teams around the league when the trade deadline slowly nears. 

Toronto (10-13): Surprised to see the offense, rather than defense, continuing to carry them to competitiveness. Scottie Barnes is averaging 15.3 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 3.3 APG and 1.2 SPG on 48.9% FG as the pacer in the rookie of the year conversation. Would love to see them in the play-in tournament. Until then, enjoy Barnes' look-backs on the fast break. 

Utah (15-7): Hadn't shot great to start this season, then they go out and poured 27 threes on 52% shooting from deep, including a perfect 7-for-7 from Mike Conley that the Celtics somehow hung with and said they had never seen anything like that before. Donovan Mitchell, speaking afterward, talked about how Utah's system practically runs itself. 

"You play with a group for so long, it's fluid," Mitchell said Friday. "Coach doesn't even have to say anything ... if coach says one thing, we know exactly where our spots our, we know the mismatches, we know what they're doing. It just comes from preparation ... we cover every damn situation in practice or shootaround. So when we come into the game, we've seen it eight times already." 

Washington (14-9): Feels like they're slipping a bit. Lost to Cleveland, San Antonio and New Orleans over their last six games. They're now a negative net rating team (-0.2) after a week where they posted a 118 defensive rating this past week (26th). They ranked among the most likely hot starters to cool down. They'll have to prove they belong and can sustain a full season defensively.