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On May 9, the Boston Celtics suffered another defeat at the hands of the Philadelphia 76ers, leaving them needing two straight wins to progress onto the Eastern Conference Finals.
According to Kevin O’Connor of the Ringer, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla is proving that he isn’t ready to be leading a contending team in the post-season.
“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.”
Throughout Boston’s series against the Sixers, Doc Rivers has been the coach who has seen his game-to-game adjustments pay dividends. From tasking Philadelphia with running more empty-side pick-and-rolls to scheming Joel Embiid to role diagonally toward the nail, everything Rivers has put into practice has been working.
However, Mazzulla isn’t having such luck, and currently, the Celtics look like a team that is devoid of ideas on how to stop the Embiid and James Harden pick-and-roll, regardless of where the Sixers choose to run it on the court.
Chris Forsberg Shares Thoughts on Joe Mazzulla
In a video that was released on the NBC Sports Boston Twitter page, Celtics insider Chris Forsberg shared his thoughts on Joe Mazzulla’s performance while coaching against the Sixers.
“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 is in his first year as the Celtics’ head coach, having stepped in when Boston suspended Ime Udoka for breach of organization policy. The Celtics made Mazzulla’s role as head coach permanent around the All-Star break.
Eddie House Rips Celtics Lack of Defense
During the NBC Sports Boston post-game show, Eddie House shared his distaste at the Celtics’ current level of defense, noting how there is no resistance when attempting to limit the Sixers’ scoring opportunities.
“You don’t guard,” House said. “And when you guard, you foul. You send them to the free-throw line. They shoot 85% from the free-throw line. They shoot 40% from three. They shoot 50% from the field. I mean, that’s all we need to know. That lets you know there was zero resistance. There was zero effect on the defensive end toward the Philadelphia 76ers. They had their way.”
Unfortunately for the Celtics, House has a point. Currently, Boston is above only the Phoenix Suns in post-season defensive rating for teams that are still active in the playoffs, despite Mazzulla’s team boasting the number one offensive rating. The Celtics and Sixers will go toe-to-toe again on Thursday, May 11, in a game where Boston will be playing to keep their season alive.
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