Getty Joe Mazzulla, Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics might be standing on the precipice of postseason failure, but former sharpshooting forward Matt Ryan still has faith in their ability to progress past the Philadelphia 76ers.
Shortly after Boston fell to their third defeat of their series against Philadelphia, Ryan took to Twitter to remind everyone that the Celtics were in this exact position last season. With Boston storming back to beat the Milwaukee Bucks on their home court in a game seven.
Boston was in the same exact position in the second round last year…lost game 5 at home against the Bucks, down 3-2 on the road, JT masterclass brought it back to Boston for Game 7. Expecting that again
Ryan, 26, spent some times with the Celtics during his first year in the NBA after going undrafted out of college, participating in one game, making one of his five three-point shots. Since leaving Boston, Ryan has played for both the Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolvesm but has failed to nail down a rotation role with either team.
Still, Ryan has spent time around Boston’s core rotation, and has an insight into their level of competitiveness, so Celtics fans should feel encouraged that he still expects them to progress onto the Eastern Conference finals.
Chris Forsberg Unimpressed With Joe Mazzulla
One major difference between this year’s Celtics, and the one that Ryan played for, is that Joe Mazzulla is now the head coach. According to Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston, Doc Rivers is winning the coaching battle with rookie Mazzulla, as Philadelphia’s adjustments are having greater impact on the outcome of games.
“I totally underestimated the potential for the coaching disparity to play itself out in this series”
@ChrisForsberg_ weighs in on what went wrong for the C’s in Game 5
“The confidence he [Doc Rivers] has instilled in all of his players, in terms of pushing the right buttons, going with the right personnel,” Forsberg said. “Every time that the Celtics think they’ve found or tapped into something, they find a way to counteract it. I think about Harden, ok, in games two and three, Jaylen takes him out…I totally underestimated the potential for the coaching disparity to play itself out in this series. But, especially in the final moments of game four, and it felt like it continued to snowball in this one, Joe just didn’t have any answers for what the Sixers were doing.”
Mazzulla will now need to find some weaknesses in the Sixers rotation and look to exploit them over the next two games, because if Boston lose to Philadelphia once more, their season will be over.
Insider Believes Celtics Will Regret Losing Ime Udoka
According to NBA Insider Kevin O’Connor, Mazzulla appears to be out of his depth, and Boston will look back on losing both Ime Udoka and Will Hardy with regret.
Joe Mazzulla is not ready for this stage. Losing Ime Udoka and Will Hardy may be something the Celtics never recover from.
“Joe Mazzulla is not ready for this stage,” O’Connor tweeted. “Losing Ime Udoka and Will Hardy may be something the Celtics never recover from.”