The Golden State Warriors may not be in the NBA playoffs, but their presence and legacy is still felt. With the Boston Celtics getting bounced in Round 1 by the Philadelphia 76ers, they may have also ushered out the style of offense that the Warriors brought into vogue over a decade ago.
The Celtics lost Game 7 109-100 to the 76ers, with a big reason for the defeat stemming from their reliance and inability to make three-pointers. They were just 13-for-49 from beyond the arc (a dismal 27%), leaving some on social media so disgusted by the performance that they predicted the end of the three-heavy offense in the NBA.
Some predict the NBA the Warriors created is coming to an end
Maybe that’s a bit of an overstatement, but teams may definitely start to question that approach going forward. It can work for some teams, but the Warriors made it look way easier than a lot of teams ever could have realized.
When Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, the Splash Brothers, were together on the Warriors at their peak, they completely remade the NBA. Other teams around the league began to live and die by the three point shot and it completely changed the way the game is played.
Now teams are seeing the limits of that approach. The Celtics shot 33.7% from three-point range in the series against the 76ers. That’s just not going to cut it. They really struggled from three-point range in their last three losses, having held a 3-1 lead in the series before blowing it.
Watching the Celtics brick wide open three-after-three-after-three to end their season and, likely, this style of offense in the NBA.
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) May 3, 2026
To be fair, they won the NBA title just a few seasons ago, meaning their brand on basketball can work. Clearly, they needed a more balanced offensive approach over the last three games against the 76ers.
The Warriors have dealt with similar problems in recent years. They have become three-happy at times and they don’t have a ton of players on the team who can drive to the rim and score with consistency. They rely on a lot of offense from the perimeter which can be fun to watch when the shots go down, but inevitably turns into an excruciating brand of basketball to watch when they go cold.
The Warriors were so good at their peak that they could overcome a cold quarter or half, turn it on, erase a big deficit and build a big lead in the blink of an eye. They don’t have that same firepower anymore, and neither do a lot of teams around the NBA who have tried to replicate that approach.
Teams will still opt for this method, but perhaps there will be more balance from three-heavy offenses going forward after seeing the Celtics quite literally die from beyond the arc in the playoffs.
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