Celtics' not-so secret weapon anymore – Baynes for 3…

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CLEVELAND – As the media scrum mad their way on to the Quicken Loans Arena Saturday morning, there were a few Celtics players already on the floor getting up shots.

Among them was Aron Baynes, taking – and making – a lot of 3’s.

Upon first sight, it might seem a bit unusual to see the 6-foot-10, 260-plus pounder stroking it from long range.

But as we’ve seen with Baynes this season, teams will either learn the hard way or respect his shooting range which could become a factor in tonight's Game 3 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals with the Celtics coming in with a 2-0 series lead over the Cavaliers. 

Baynes comes in shooting 50 percent from 3 in the playoffs and isn’t afraid to take them.

His emergence as a viable 3-point shooting threat began in the preseason.

“When he first signed here, he came by in the preseason and was just shooting around,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens recalled. “I was down there with him. I just remember him hitting shot after shot after shot. It was mostly 15 to 17 feet.”

That led to a conversation about corner 3’s and above-the-break 3’s.

“He’s shot them every single day, through training camp, practice, through pre-game shooting and everything else,” Stevens recalled. “We’ve encouraged him to shoot all year especially from the corners.”

And he has made teams pay, evident by him making more corner 3s (eight) in the second-round series against the Sixers, than Philly’s entire team combined (five).

While there are many shocked at how Baynes has been shooting the 3-ball, don’t count him among those who didn’t see this coming.

“I’ve put in the work and I’ve put in the time, but like I say, ‘it’s not the number of one thing I work on,” he said. “It’s not the thing I spend the most time on. I’m always trying to expand my game, and in this day and age, its’ about trying to create space. And what better way than trying to step out there and knock down a few shots. But like I said, I’m not trying to live by it.”

Here are five under-the-radar storylines heading into tonight’s all-important Game 3:

JAYSON TATUM

JAYLEN BROWN

TURNOVERS

BALANCED ATTACK

DEFENDING JAMES

NBC SPORTS BOSTON SCHEDULE

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