Forward Al Horford was warming up before the Celtics’ game against the Knicks Wednesday when he noticed shooting guard Avery Bradley was not out there with the rest of the team.
It turned out Bradley was a late scratch, ruled out with lingering soreness in his Achilles’ tendon. Bradley missed four games with a sore Achilles’ before returning to play 33 minutes in Boston’s win over the Hornets on Monday.
He took part in the Celtics’ walk-through practice at TD Garden on Wednesday afternoon, but coach Brad Stevens said he was more sore than he had been in recent days.
“I think he did treatment the whole game and I can see him missing a little bit more time,’’ Stevens said. “I just think maybe he came back a little bit too early, whatever the case may be. But he was more sore today than he’s been.’’
The Celtics face the Blazers on Saturday. They have gone 3-2 in Bradley’s absence.
3-pointers better
Horford was considering signing with the Celtics last summer, he was aware that their 3-point shooting figured to be one of their primary flaws. They did not have long-range marksmen last season, when they ranked 28th in the NBA by making just 33.5 percent of their 3-pointers. And then they did not really address the need in the summer.
“One of the things when I came here that everybody looked at was that maybe we didn’t have enough guys that were shooting, that were hitting threes,’’ Horford said. “That was one of the things that people kept telling me.’’
But as this season breezes past the halfway point, that has not been an issue. The Celtics entered Wednesday night’s game against the Knicks making 37.1 percent of their threes, tied for sixth in the league. They are shooting them at a high volume, too, ranking third in the NBA with 12 3-pointers made per game. For Horford, it has been a pleasant surprise.
“You know, guys are making them,’’ Horford said, “and I said at the beginning of the year, guys like Jae [Crowder] improved their shooting and a lot of guards are just much more confident, our bigs as well. But guys have worked on it and we’re seeing some success from the 3-point line.’’
Of course, the presence of Horford helps. Although he entered Wednesday shooting just 33.6 percent from beyond the arc, he is a skilled passer and the fact that he can drain a long jumper helps space the floor for his teammates.
The improved 3-point shooting hit a speed bump in Wednesday night’s 117-106 loss to the Knicks at TD Garden. The Celtics hit only 9 of 33 treys (27.3 percent), with Horford missing 7 of 8 attempts.
Numbers game If you walk around TD Garden during a Celtics game, some jerseys worn by fans are considerably more prominent than the others. Larry Bird’s No. 33 might still be the most common, and Paul Pierce’s No. 34 and Rajon Rondo’s No. 9 can still be found each night, too.
Two years ago at this time, the jerseys of former Celtics clearly outnumbered those of the current ones. But amid Boston’s revival, that truth is shifting. For starters, Thomas’s No. 4 is popping up everywhere.
But Thomas said there is a chance that fans should not get too comfortable seeing him with that digit. His favorite number, he said, is 11, but when he was traded to Boston two years ago, Evan Turner had that uniform.
He said the Celtics offered him 4, 12 “and like 38 through 90 or something.’’ And he thought 4 was the best of an underwhelming list of options.
“I don’t really like 4,’’ explained Thomas, who had 39 points Wednesday night. “There’s just all them numbers retired up [in the rafters]. No. 11, somebody had it. So in high school I wore No. 11. When I went to college somebody already had it and wasn’t giving it up. So like I said, there’s a lot of thinking to do. I’ll see what I’m going to do.’’
NBA players cannot change their numbers during a season unless they are traded, so the swap is not imminent. And Thomas said he is reluctant to make the switch because he understands a lot of people have already invested in No. 4.
“That would probably be messed up for the people who used their money [to buy my current jersey],’’ he said.
When it was pointed out that Thomas should embrace No. 4 because he has become one of the league’s most lethal fourth-quarter scorers, he smiled. “You’re right,’’ he said. “I’ve got a lot of thinking to do.’’
Hornacek impressed Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek coached Thomas for the first 46 games of the 2014-15 season, when both were with the Phoenix Suns. He said the point guard’s scoring ability has never been in question, but he has been impressed by his increased poise and confidence. “I think he feels at this point that nobody can stop him,’’ Hornacek said, “and that’s what makes him tough, when a guy has that extreme level of confidence they feel they can do anything.’’
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @adamhimmelsbach.
