My takeaway here isn’t the Celtics, it’s Anthony Edwards leading the league in 3s
Gilbert arenas don’t always make sense but he was right when he said it’s a sign of the times that Ant is shooting 4 more 3s a game, at a 4% increased percentage, only to avg the same amount of points. Bc he’s losing out on easy buckets and free throws
Analytics nerds ruining him
You sound like someone that doesn't watch games.
There are two parts as to why Ant is shooting more 3s.
The first of which is, because KAT's no longer on the team and has been replaced by Julius, the spacing has signifcantly shrunk. KAT is the best spacing big man in the league, and any guard/wing that plays alongside him has the luxury of playing in infinitely more space. Those "easy buckets" and "free throws" Ant is losing out on are largely because the opportunities are no longer there for him.
This is also compounded by the fact that Julius likes to handle the ball more than KAT, and he likes to play bully ball on the block, so that limits Ant's opportunites even more.
Ant not only has to take more 3s because of the lack of spacing where he can't get to his other spots, but he has to take 3s to help space the floor for Julius to play bully ball.
The second part is, if you wanna blame anyone for why Ant is taking more 3s then blame KD. He told Ant to expand his range and take care of his health. It's no surprise that Ja is taking a similar route too by cutting down on his dunking to protect his long-term health.