Mazzulla’s choice to send a message has significant ramifications for the Celtics.
Joe Mazzulla claims the Celtics didn’t deserve to win and discusses how they got lucky in the closing minutes of the game. Joe Mazzulla would be unauthentic if he started throwing furniture and expletives at his players, a la Bobby Knight.
However, it would not be unwelcome if he gave his stars more of a shove, which is why Sunday night’s triumph over Memphis might be a turning moment. We may remember that 102-100 victory and the third quarter as Mazzulla’s official takeover.
Mazzulla may be young, inexperienced, and may have been brought into the position without prior notice, but he is no longer a rookie coach, and on Sunday, he demonstrated this.
30 seconds after Jayson Tatum failed to rebound off a Memphis transition layup and Jaylen Brown was given a technical foul for disputing a non-call,
head coach Mike Mazzulla made an unusual move by benching his two best players for the remainder of the quarter in addition to starting point guard Jrue Holiday.
The three sat for more over seven minutes as the frame was completed by players like Neemias Queta, Sam Hauser, and Payton Pritchard. The starting trio came back to play the whole fourth quarter,
and although none of them really took over—Kristaps Porzingis and Derrick White, of course, had the key plays—the hard-fought win didn’t come down to a lack of effort.
After the game, Mazzulla expressed his displeasure with the team’s uneven performance without specifically criticising anyone. He responded, “I don’t think we deserved to win that game,” sounding more like their boss than someone who was adamant about standing up for his players. The consequences could have a significant impact on the search for Banner 18.
Mazzulla was considered a rising star by Brad Stevens and Danny Ainge for a reason. The Celtics are ready to win now, and they cannot have their coach holding them back.
They recognised a natural leader with the potential to grow into the position. The question, though, has always been when.
He gave in to his stars last season, letting Brown and Tatum rack up pointless statistics in blowouts. That decision may have helped both players be selected to the All-NBA team, but it also implied that the player was given more importance than the team.
With his unwillingness to use timeouts, his incapacity to keep a quarrelling group of players playing to their full potential, and his unwavering reluctance to do anything but live and (usually) die by the 3-pointer, the rookie coach caused more problems than benefits during the playoffs.
It was difficult to determine whether Mazzulla had given the Celtics the best chance to win as the season came to an end in the heartbreaking Game 7 loss to the Heat.
Players who openly opposed him, such as Marcus Smart, made matters worse by claiming that the coach had been “killed a lot (and) rightfully so” for his lineup choices and calling timeouts.
It makes sense if the moment overcame him. In any sport, very few 34-year-old coaches just sprint to the top. Bill Belichick went 6–10 in his first position after being hired at 39. Tony La Russa went 70-90 after taking over the White Sox full-time at the age of 35.
It took the arrival of Bill Russell and seven complete seasons for even the 33-year-old icon Red Auerbach to win his first championship. Despite being Hall of Famers, none of them came to the position completely developed. Those who doubted the Celtics would ever be champions
Mazzulla was helpless against a coach like Erik Spoelstra who pounded the C’s with a zone a year ago. Mazzulla is now the one launching a disruptive 2-2-1 full-court press that Holiday and White are leading. Brown and Tatum regularly engaged in lengthy, one-sided games a year ago.
They’ve already missed the fourth quarters of their lopsided victories over the Wizards and Pacers (the latter by 51 points, so hopefully) and both of their minutes are now down.
Mazzulla turned a blind eye a year ago as Mazzulla was helpless against a coach like Erik Spoelstra who pounded the C’s with a zone a year ago. Mazzulla is now the one launching a disruptive 2-2-1 full-court press that Holiday and White are leading.
Brown and Tatum regularly engaged in lengthy, one-sided games a year ago. They’ve already missed the fourth quarters of their lopsided victories over the Wizards and Pacers (the latter by 51 points,
so hopefully) and both of their minutes are now down. Mazzulla turned a blind eye a year ago as he saw his finest players sulk at the officials and put out sporadic effort in transition.
he saw his finest players sulk at the officials and put out sporadic effort in transition. Now he’s coaching everyone else and letting them watch half the third quarter from the bench. Those are a man’s acts.
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