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The Boston Celtics could have four first-rounders in next year’s draft, from: the Kings (top 1 protected), the Grizzlies (1 to 8 protected) and the Clippers (1 to 14 protected), plus their own. We are almost a quarter of the way through the season. Who would have thought that the Celtics would be on track to end up the highest pick of them all by season’s end?

I’m being hyperbolic. But we’re past the “it’s early” stage to assess the team, and the results are disappointing. Boston lost at home against a terrible Knicks team. Before that, there was a blown double-digit, fourth-quarter lead against a tired Charlotte Hornets team. It’s nothing short of baffling. One of their wins required an unlikely, otherworldly late comeback against an objectively bad Phoenix team. And it’s not like the Celtics are the only team that has had to incorporate players into new roles.

Brad Stevens’s offense moves the ball well (in the top half of the league in assist percentage) and generates open looks with ease. It’s not a lethargy thing, either: The players seem to like playing with one another and for Stevens. And besides, how do you have one of the league’s best defenses without playing hard?

But the open looks just aren’t falling, and neither are the shots around the paint, in the rare instances players actually try to go to the rim. The offense is designed to emphasize the shooting talent of the roster. Everyone has some semblance of a jumper. In today’s N.B.A., this should, in theory, make for a lethal offense. Early on, it was easy to say the bricks were a bug, not a feature. Now you have to wonder if there’s more going on here. Boston shoots under 35 percent on catch-and-shoot 3-pointers, well below the league average.