The most contradictory main force of the Celtics: the unblocked three-point high-tech turret?

On May 15, 2025, the Celtics defeated the Knicks 127-102 at home. The Celtics successfully turned grief and anger into strength after Tatum fell, chasing the series to 2-3.

Although from the books, Jaylen Brown, who had a career-high 12 assists and Derek White, who scored a game-high 34 points, are undoubtedly the biggest contributors to this game. But the person who really changed the game may be Luke Connett, who came on the bench for 25 minutes and handed over 10 points, 9 rebounds and 7 blocks.

Porzingis has been infected with a strange disease since the end of the season, which has not reached his best condition. According to head coach Mazula, in the fifth game, he was unable to breathe, and the coaching team finally decided to let him rest on the bench, and Connett replaced the starter. Not only did he play for 12 minutes in the third quarter, he also grabbed 5 rebounds and sent 5 blocks in one breath, becoming the fifth man in NBA playoff history.

As a substitute center with a basic salary, few people except Celtic fans will notice Cornet.

The best weapon in the mainstream today

Born in 1995, Connett, after four years at Vanderbilt University, was eliminated in the 2017 draft, but he quickly signed a two-way contract with the Knicks, and delivered a record average of 6.9 points, 3 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 0.9 blocks during his two-year period. But the more interesting thing is that Connet does not play at the basket in the traditional way, and will make an average of 4.1 shots outside the three-point line and make 1.5 three-pointers in each game. However, this style of play has resulted in his shooting percentage of only 38.2%, which is quite unqualified center attack efficiency.

In the Knicks at that time, Cornett was like Porzingis's stand-in. Both of them had a height of more than 210 cm and had excellent frame protection. They were mainly high-end turrets outside the three-point line. Such play style and figure conditions allowed him to always be unexpectedly favored by NBA teams. In the 2020-21 season, because of the Thes trading case, he met Coach Stevens who changed his career fate.

As a head coach who advocates three-point shooting, Connett is in line with his playing style and philosophy under Stevens' system of pick-and-roll external bullets. However, after the end of the season, the senior personnel of the Celtics experienced huge changes. Danny Angie chose to leave the team and Stevens transferred to the position of general manager. Although Connett received the training camp contract issued by the Celtics before the season, he was cut only a day later.

Then he signed a 10-day short-term contract with the Cavaliers and the Bucks but still couldn't get a chance. At this time, Stevens once again extended an olive branch to him on behalf of the Celtics.

A dynamic transformation revolution

Perhaps because of different thinking after becoming general manager, in the 18 games of Cornet's return to the Celtics, Stevens suddenly saw the characteristics he had not noticed in the past. He was not as bulky as he remembered, and could also give high-quality cover to his teammates when playing pick-and-roll tactics.

In addition, he has been optimistic and worked hard to cheer his teammates in the game, and is an indispensable adhesive player for every team. Therefore, in the summer of 2022, Stevens did not make up for the penalty area after exchanging Brogodon from the Pacers, but chose to use a two-year minimum salary contract to stay with Cornet and find Griffin, who could hardly jump.

Like his mentor Stevens, Mazula, who was ordered in danger, emphasized "the flow of balls on the court" and "three-pointers". However, it was surprising that although Cornet became an important substitute in the system, his three-point shooting ability was almost completely sealed after Mazula took over the team, and was replaced by a very efficient pie-type center big man.

We bring the time back to the summer of 2022, and Connett took advantage of the offseason to play in the gym. In one round, he gave up his three-pointer and went out to the phone and chose to break through and dunk. This video went viral online, and Stevens himself even liked the update. To a certain extent, perhaps from that moment on, Connett officially embarked on the road to transformation.

Boston's White Cake King

Previously, in an exclusive interview with the media, Connett revealed that when he entered the NBA, he had expected that he could become an anti-aircraft turret like Channing Fry and Lopez. But his three-point shooting percentage has declined year by year after leaving the Knicks. In the end, he decided to change his style of play so that he could do more things on the court that would contribute to the team.

"My shooting has gotten worse, so I have to think about what I can do for the team? What should I do to make my team work better?"

A person familiar with the matter explained that Connet's shooting rate decline is likely due to injuries. Initially, he was hit by Embiid in the nose in a game, which caused complications in his neck, shoulders, etc., and later suffered consecutive foot fractures and ankle injuries. Therefore, when he returned to the Celtics for the second time, he began to gradually accept his new role in the Development League team, positioning himself as a pick-and-roll screener, and gradually becoming familiar with the work of this role.

Stevens also said in an exclusive interview that when Cornet was still playing in the Development League under the Knicks, the Celtics coaching team had already noticed this special big man, not only limited to his shooting skills, but also his advantages such as franchise protection, basket ending, etc. When he came to the Celtics, the coach also asked him to try to shoot three-pointers, but under his sluggish shooting percentage, he finally believed in the necessity of his transformation.

After the NBA's three-point revolution, most of the big men were trying to extend their offense, but Connett put away his original strengths and became a pie-type center with a shooting percentage of more than 66.5% for three consecutive years..

"This kind of change is really difficult, because shooting was once the most proud technique, but the reason why I entered the NBA suddenly disappeared."

Connet's response to such a change was very simple. Although it was a bit embarrassing, he began to become familiar with this new role with day after day training and finally learned how to help the team become better. This selfless spirit is the key to his attention from the team's senior management, coaching team, teammates and even fans. The only rejection in the core rotation is the reason why the Celtics won the championship last season and achieved a record of 61 wins and 21 losses this year. The most outstanding advantage is that they can be called a dead end offensive space. Under the crazy three-point firepower of the whole team, among the nine core rotations, only Connett is not threatening to three-pointers. However, both coaches and teammates have always regarded Cornet as an excellent shooter, and sometimes even hope that he can regain the firepower value of his high-speed turret.

Borrowing Horford's evaluation of Connett is very direct:

"His shot is really great, he just chose not to shoot. If he scored a three-pointer in a certain game or at a certain point in time, I would not be surprised at all."

As the most successful space-type fifth position in recent years, how difficult is Horford and even Connett's transformation, it is naturally a very high recognition evaluation.

As for how much changes have happened to Cornett after his transformation?

Porzingis, who once worked as a teammate in the Knicks, naturally knew this:

"I was really surprised by this, but I was impressed by his transformation. His character and adaptability have made him play now. He has comprehensive skills and is a great teammate."

In fact, the Celtics and the coaching team have been encouraging Connet to regain three-pointers, and he also knows that he often gets good mobile phone opportunities, but in the process of After years of transformation, all his habits on the court have changed:

"I plan to shoot a little more three-pointers, I'm trying to try this, and I know I have the ability."

However, for Cornet at this stage, he is very satisfied with his new role in the Celtics:

"Early in my career, I always wondered whether I could contribute to a strong team. Although I didn't think it would be in this way, sometimes this is God's will!"