Despite consistently being one of the best regular-season teams in the NBA and winning a championship two years ago, the Boston Celtics have generally underachieved in the postseason under Joe Mazzulla. In three of his four playoff trips, the Celtics were eliminated earlier than expected by inferior opponents. They've also lost a concerning number of home games where they were heavily favored.
Boston's overreliance on 3-pointers has been cited as a major issue, especially during their two most recent collapses against the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers. When the Celtics are cold from three, they double down on them rather than attack the basket or try something else, often shooting themselves out of games.
According to Skip Bayless, they are a victim of their own stubbornness and one-dimensional offense. There never seems to be a backup plan when the threes aren't falling.
"There's never a plan B with this Celtics group" @RealSkipBayless pic.twitter.com/5U0Edgow3K
— Gil’s Arena (@GilsArenaShow) May 11, 2026
"This live and die by the three... Doesn't it keep boiling down to that?" Bayless said on Monday's episode of "Gil's Arena." "There's never a plan B for this group... They just jack up threes. You have to have an alternative game plan, and they don't. They just say, 'Well, we'll get hot in the fourth quarter.'"
Bayless is right. The Celtics are at the mercy of their own threes and play the victim when they don't go in. When they lose, they say they took good shots rather than taking accountability for not changing their strategy.
Other teams adjust to Boston over the course of a series, but the Celtics don't make their own necessary adjustments. They just keep using the same strategy and hope for different results.
Bayless blamed Boston for not attacking the basket more with Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, two of the best drivers in the NBA. He also called out Derrick White's "deadly cold" shooting slump, which contributed to the Celtics' collapse against the Sixers.
Unfortunately, Boston didn't learn its lesson against the Knicks last year, perhaps believing it was a fluke. Hopefully this time around, the Celtics realize that it wasn't and start diversifying their offense.
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