Joe Mazzulla’s “Mazzulla Ball” philosophy is under fire after Celtics postseason disappointment
Mazzulla is one of the brightest coaching minds in the NBA, but his failures in the postseason have critics calling his position into question.
Joe Mazzulla’s “Mazzulla Ball” philosophy is under fire after Celtics postseason disappointment originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . The Boston Celtics are now in the postseason after blowing a 3-1 lead in the first round of the playoffs, and critics are trying to find the reason why.
The Celtics were pegged as the team to make it out of the East, and they ended up being one of the furthest from that. Some critics point to particular players, but some are also pointing to one man: head coach Joe Mazzulla, and his “Mazzulla Ball” style of play: jacking up a bunch of three point attempts . Critics think Mazzulla is a regular season merchant © Eric Hartline-Imagn Images After this season, the NBA media is taking a hard look at Mazzulla’s resume.
On a Celtics on CLNS podcast, Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn and NBA writer A. Sherrod Blakely both agreed that Mazzulla is built for the regular season, but not so much the postseason . "I think we're seeing in the playoffs, he is being out-coached, and something's gotta change,” Washburn said.
“"Joe is slowly but surely establishing the reputation of being a really good regular-season coach. When you look at the totality of his postseasons as a coach, you take away the championship year, and it's not looking good,” Blakely stated. Mazulla’s coaching record © Eric Hartline-Imagn Images Let’s break it down.