Former Celtics champion Kevin McHale says Boston’s recent postseason struggles—especially heavy reliance on 3-point shots and trouble scoring in the paint—should push the team to rethink its approach, even as he hopes Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown stay togethe
Kevin McHale isn’t arguing that the Celtics can’t shoot. He’s arguing that, lately, they might be living in the wrong part of the court.
Speaking to the Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach. the Hall of Famer—who won three championships with Boston—said there are games when the pace of all those 3-point looks becomes hard for him to watch. “Some days the 3-point shooting contest gets a little bit much for me and I do some head shaking. ” McHale said. “Basketball has changed in a lot of ways.”.
He pointed to a simple idea: the offense can’t become so perimeter-heavy that it forgets to pressure defenses inside. “So, the Celtics — I like them and I think [coach] Joe Mazzulla has done a good job. But I just think there comes a time when the ball has got to touch the paint. You’ve got to attack. you’ve got to put people on their heels. and you’ve got to collapse a defense.”.
McHale’s comments land after the Celtics leaned heavily on 3-point attempts during the regular season and postseason. only to run into trouble converting when games tightened. In their four losses to the 76ers during these playoffs, Boston shot 22.9 percent from beyond the arc. The same stretch also included struggles generating points in the paint and getting to the free-throw line.
He also tied his critique to what he believes good teams do when a single plan stops working. Brad Stevens, addressing the Celtics’ season at an end-of-year press conference, discussed the need for better shot variance and said Boston may need to add to the team to reach that goal.
McHale. who went on to coaching stints with the Timberwolves and Rockets after his playing days. said the championship Celtics he knew didn’t lean on one repeating script. “We were never caught out of rhythm with Larry [Bird]. because if Plan A wasn’t working. he went to Plan B. ” McHale said. “And if Plan B wasn’t working, he went to Plan C. If C wasn’t working, he went to D. It wasn’t, ‘I’m just going to do what’s not working.”.
He described how that approach shaped decisions in real time—how rhythm mattered, and how players adjusted rather than stubbornly sticking to what wasn’t going.
If he opened hot from the perimeter. McHale said he wouldn’t immediately force himself into the interior just to prove a point. “If I came out and made my first three 15-footers. I wasn’t going to come out and battle everybody in the paint and get beat up. I was going to shoot my 15-footers and have a good time. If that wasn’t working. I’d say. ‘Here we go.’ And I’d pump fake. drive to the hole. get fouled. and get hammered. because there were no flagrants. I wasn’t going to do what wasn’t working.”.
That belief shows up again when he talks about what he wants to see from Boston’s core. McHale highlighted Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown’s scoring ability from the elbows, and he said he hopes the duo stays together. They have played together for almost a decade and won a title in 2024.
The Celtics’ championship expectations don’t feel abstract to McHale—he watched Banner 18 rise and said he’s hoping Brown and Tatum are both still there for Banner 19. “They got one, and I’d love to see those guys get another one,” McHale said. “But it ain’t easy, I promise you that.”
Kevin McHale Boston Celtics Jayson Tatum Jaylen Brown Joe Mazzulla Larry Bird Brad Stevens 76ers playoffs 3-point shooting Banner 19