Celtics’ high-volume shooters had bad luck from 3-point range

Some thoughts on the Celtics returning from Brooklyn with a winning record for the first time this season…

⋅ This will probably change, but interesting enough for now. Here are the Celtics’ best 3-point shooters by percentage this season with a minimum of 10 attempts: Baylor Scheierman (52.9%), Hugo Gonzalez (50), Jordan Walsh (41.2), Anfernee Simons (40.4), Josh Minott (38.1) and Luka Garza (38.1).

Now, aside from Simons, the players on this list are mostly low-volume shooters. Still, it seems notable that Jaylen Brown (34.9), Payton Pritchard (33.1), Sam Hauser (33.3) and Derrick White (30.5) are shooting below their career averages from long range, some from far away.

Part of that could be the absence of Jayson Tatum, who draws so much attention from opposing defenses that it creates better searches for secondary options. But it’s probably primarily the result of poor early shooting luck, which should bode well for the Celtics.

Pritchard, for example, has come out of his slump and is 18 of 35 from 3-point range over the last three games, all wins.

“I just went through a little bit of a rut there,” Pritchard said after Tuesday’s win over the Nets. “Sometimes great shooters start to overcomplicate their shot. “I want to tuck my wrist in more. How can I make it even more coherent?” Rather than cutting to the chase and making one motion, one motion, one motion.

⋅ Unlike Brown, White and even Pritchard, Hauser is primarily considered a 3-point specialist. He never shot below 40 percent from long range over a full season, including in college.

But in the crucial fourth quarter of Tuesday’s victory, he made a substantial impact by making just one shot. He played all but 18 seconds of the period and recorded 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals, while even being tasked with applying full-court pressure defense.

“Just be a basketball player, I guess, at the end of the day,” Hauser said. “You may be here for a specific trait, and you may be very good at it, but how can you impact your team differently when that trait is not up to its normal level?

I had to read this quote twice to make sure it wasn’t from Coach Joe Mazzulla, because it sounded exactly like something he might say. Mazzulla is doing everything he can to keep this group going through this unusual season.

Hauser played just seven minutes in last Sunday’s win over the Clippers, and on Tuesday he emerged as a key finisher. He acknowledged that the inconsistency has presented challenges, but said he is focused on being “external not internal,” meaning the team rather than himself.

“There’s going to be a lot this year, I feel like,” Hauser said, “changing lineups, changing rotations and figuring out what works.”

This unclear hierarchy allowed everyone to be ready for anything.

⋅ Earlier this season, Mazzulla warned the media not to read the starting lineup choices because he intended to use many different ones. Sure enough, he deployed three different starting groups through the first four games.

Then he appeared to pick one, with Minott joining regulars Brown, White, Pritchard and Neemias Queta for nine straight games.

But over the past three games, Walsh has been inserted in Minott’s place, and the returns have generally been encouraging. Walsh is a pesky defender and has primarily been tasked with guarding the opponent’s best offensive weapon whenever he is on the floor.

The lineup featuring Walsh outscored opponents by 31.8 points per 100 possessions. But just 74 seconds into the third quarter Tuesday, Walsh gave up positioning to Nets forward Michael Porter Jr., gave up an offensive rebound and fouled out before immediately being replaced by Minott.

⋅ Speaking of net ratings, 17 Celtics duos have played at least 150 minutes together this season, and Queta is the common thread among the most successful. He has a net rating of plus-22.4 when paired with Pritchard, followed by plus-17.6 with White, plus-15.5 with Brown and plus-14.1 with Minott. To put these sparkling numbers into perspective, there is no other pairing with a double-digit positive rating.

Adam Himmelsbach can be contacted at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.