The Boston Celtics have long been one of the NBA's most dominant regular-season teams, but when the playoffs roll around, something seems to short-circuit. Even with a championship banner raised just two years ago, the Celtics have developed a troubling habit of falling short when it matters most—and Skip Bayless knows exactly why.
Under head coach Joe Mazzulla, Boston has been eliminated earlier than expected in three of four postseason runs, often at the hands of lower-seeded opponents. Perhaps more concerning? The Celtics have dropped a worrying number of home playoff games where they were heavy favorites. It's a pattern that's hard to ignore, and Bayless points to one glaring culprit: an overreliance on the three-point shot.
During their most recent collapses—against the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers—Boston's offense went ice cold from deep. But instead of adjusting, the Celtics doubled down, launching even more threes rather than attacking the rim or switching up their approach. The result? They shot themselves right out of the game.
"There's never a plan B with this Celtics group," Bayless said on a recent episode of Gil's Arena. "They just jack up threes. You have to have an alternative game plan, and they don't. They just say, 'We'll get hot in the fourth quarter.'"
Bayless hits on a critical point: the Celtics are at the mercy of their own shot selection. When the threes aren't falling, they play the victim rather than taking accountability. They insist they're taking "good shots," but good shots don't win games if they never go in—and if there's no backup plan when they don't.
Other teams adjust to Boston over the course of a series, tightening up defensively and forcing the Celtics into uncomfortable positions. But Boston rarely makes the same adjustments in return. They keep running the same offense, hoping for different results—a recipe for playoff heartbreak.
Bayless also called out a key tactical failure: the Celtics aren't attacking the basket enough with Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, two of the league's most explosive drivers. Instead of using their athleticism to get to the rim and draw fouls, they settle for deep jumpers. And with Derrick White stuck in a "deadly cold" shooting slump, the offense becomes even more one-dimensional.
For Celtics fans, it's a frustrating déjà vu. The talent is there. The regular-season wins are there. But until Boston finds a plan B—and the discipline to use it—the postseason collapses will keep coming.